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Benjamin, Asher

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin, Asher, 1773–1845, American architect, b. Greenfield, Mass. His Country Builder's Assistant was published in 1797 and The American Builder's Companion, with Daniel Reynard, in 1806. Benjami...

Ananias

(Encyclopedia)Ananias ănˌənīˈəs [key] [Gr.,=Heb. Ananiah and Hananiah]. 1 In the Acts of the Apostles, man who, with his wife Sapphira, held back part of a gift to the early Jerusalem church and lied about it...

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

(Encyclopedia)Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin mēˈnē, mēˈnē, tēˈkəl, yo͞ofärˈsĭn [key], in the Bible, the mysterious riddle written by a hand on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. These Aramaic words may be tr...

Frazee, John

(Encyclopedia)Frazee, John frāˈzē [key], 1790–1852, American pioneer sculptor, b. Rahway, N.J. Without formal instruction, he advanced from tombstone cutting to portrait busts, including those of Daniel Webste...

Hicks, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hicks, Thomas, 1823–90, American portrait painter, b. Newtown, Pa. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and abroad, where he lived for several years. He settled in New York City i...

Healy, George Peter Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Healy, George Peter Alexander, 1813–94, American painter, b. Boston. He began painting portraits at the age of 18 and, disregarding background, concentrated on producing a good likeness. Examples of...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Chicago Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1891 when businessman Charles Norman Fay invited the German-born conductor Theodore Thomas to establish and lead a new city orchestra; he conducted it until his ...

Lowell, Francis Cabot

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, Francis Cabot, 1775–1817, pioneer American cotton manufacturer, b. Newburyport, Mass.; son of John Lowell (1743–1802). A merchant in Boston, he traveled (1810) to England, where he studied...

Mumford, Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Mumford, Lewis, 1895–1990, American social philosopher, b. Flushing, N.Y.; educ. City College of New York, Columbia, New York Univ., and the New School for Social Research. A critic of the dehumaniz...

Alesius, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Alesius, Ales, or Aless, Alexander əlēˈshəs, əlĕsˈ [key], 1500–1565, Scottish Protestant theologian. As canon of the collegiate church at St. Andrews he tried to reclaim Patrick Hamilton from...