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lutetium

(Encyclopedia)lutetium, formerly lutecium both: lo͞otēˈshēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Lu; atomic number 71; at. wt. 174.9668; m.p. about 1,663℃; b.p. about 3,395℃; sp. gr. 9.835 at 25℃; v...

Seeger, Ruth Crawford

(Encyclopedia)Seeger, Ruth Crawford, 1901–53, American composer and folklorist, b. East Liverpool, Ohio, as Ruth Porter Crawford, studied American Conservatory, Chicago; stepmother of Pete Seeger and mother of Mi...

Coxey, Jacob Sechler

(Encyclopedia)Coxey, Jacob Sechler kŏkˈsē [key], 1854–1951, American social reformer, b. Selinsgrove, Pa. He began his career as a stationary engineer, later turning to the scrap-iron business and then to sand...

Ephron, Nora Louise

(Encyclopedia)Ephron, Nora Louise, 1941–2012, American writer and film director, grad. Wellesley College (B.A., 1962). Witty, tough, self-deprecating, and ironic in all her guises, she was a reporter for the New ...

Hughes, Langston

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Langston (James Langston Hughes), 1902–67, American poet and central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, b. Joplin, Mo., grad. Lincoln Univ., 1929. He worked at a variety of jobs and lived in ...

Alsop, Marin

(Encyclopedia)Alsop, Marin ôlˈsəp [key], 1956–, American conductor, b. New York City. The daughter of professional musicians, she began playing the piano at two and the violin at five. Alsop started conducting...

Caesar, Sid

(Encyclopedia)Caesar, Sid (Isaac Sidney Caesar), 1922–2014, American comedian, one of the stars of the “golden age of live television,” b. Yonkers, N.Y. While performing in a World War II military show he met...

Macapagal, Diosdado

(Encyclopedia)Macapagal, Diosdado dēōsdäˈᵺō mäkäpägälˈ [key], 1911–97, president of the Philippines (1961–65). A forceful orator, Macapagal practiced law and later served in the Philippine diplomati...

Magellan, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Magellan, Strait of, c.330 mi (530 km) long and 21⁄2 to 15 mi (4–24 km) wide, separating South America from Tierra del Fuego and other islands south of the continent. Except for a few miles at its...

María Luisa

(Encyclopedia)María Luisa lo͞oēˈsä [key], 1751–1819, queen of Spain, daughter of Duke Philip of Parma, consort of King Charles IV. Dissolute and domineering, she exerted, with her favorite Godoy, the real po...