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Brasher, Rex

(Encyclopedia)Brasher, Rex brāˈshər [key], 1869–1960, American artist and naturalist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. St. Francis College, Brooklyn, 1884. A self-taught artist, he devoted his life to making life-size...

Bilac, Olavo

(Encyclopedia)Bilac, Olavo o͝oläˈvo͝o bēläkˈ [key], 1865–1918, Brazilian poet, journalist, and critic. He was the chief poet of the Brazilian group related to the French Parnassians. His writings have an e...

Zunser, Eliakum

(Encyclopedia)Zunser, Eliakum ĕlˈyōko͝om tso͝onˈzər [key], 1846–1913, Lithuanian folk poet and singer who wrote in Yiddish. The most popular Jewish folk singer of his time, he appeared at weddings all over...

Bergman, Torbern Olof

(Encyclopedia)Bergman, Torbern Olof to͝orˈbərn o͞oˈlôv bĕrˈyəmän [key], 1735–84, Swedish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist. A professor at the Univ. of Uppsala from 1758, he developed a theory of che...

Zeyer, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Zeyer, Julius yo͝oˈlĭo͝os zāˈĕr, tsīˈər [key], 1841–1901, Czech writer. Restless, nostalgic, and mystical, Zeyer wrote ornate, almost decadent epic poetry based on ancient and medieval leg...

Rego, José Lins do

(Encyclopedia)Rego, José Lins do zho͝ozĕˈ lēnz dô rĕˈgo͝o [key], 1901–57, Brazilian novelist. His fame rests largely on his semiautobiographical “sugarcane cycle,” dealing with social transformation ...

Tacheng

(Encyclopedia)Tacheng cho͞ogo͞ochäkˈ [key], town (1994 est. pop. 56,400), N Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, in the Dzungarian basin, bordering on Kazakhstan. Long a major center for trade with Central ...

Staffa

(Encyclopedia)Staffa stăfˈə [key], uninhabited island, 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) long and 1⁄4 mi (.4 km) wide, Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland, one of the Inner Hebrides, near Mull. Famous for Fingal's Cave, Staffa has n...

Te Deum laudamus

(Encyclopedia)Te Deum laudamus tē dēˈəm lôdāˈməs, tā dāˈo͝om loudäˈmo͝os [key] [Lat.,=we praise Thee, O God], early chant of the Western Church beginning, “We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge The...

Sultan Husayn

(Encyclopedia)Sultan Husayn so͝oltänˈ ho͞osānˈ [key], d. 1729, Safavid shah of Persia (1694–1722). A weak and superstitious man, Shah Sultan Husayn was surrounded by astrologers and fanatics and was able to...