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Witte, Emanuel de

(Encyclopedia)Witte, Emanuel de āmäˈno͞oĕl də vĭtˈə [key], 1617–92, Dutch painter. Witte's paintings of architecture, genre scenes, seascapes, and portraits were influenced by the work of Elsheimer. Witt...

Wise, Isaac Mayer

(Encyclopedia)Wise, Isaac Mayer, 1819–1900, American rabbi, founder of organized Reform Judaism in the United States, b. Bohemia, studied at the Univ. of Vienna. He settled in the United States in 1846. Wise was ...

Wills, Helen Newington

(Encyclopedia)Wills, Helen Newington (Helen Wills Moody Roark), 1905–98, American tennis player, b. Centerville, Calif. She studied art at the Univ. of California and later gave exhibitions of her paintings and e...

evangelist

(Encyclopedia)evangelist ĭvănˈjəlĭst [key] [Gr.,=Gospel], title given to saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors of the four Gospels. The four evangelists are often symbolized respectively by a man, ...

near-death experience

(Encyclopedia)near-death experience, phenomenon reported by some people who have been clinically dead, then returned to life. Descriptions of the experience differ slightly in detail from person to person, but usua...

Dean, James

(Encyclopedia)Dean, James (James Byron Dean), 1931–55, American film actor, b. Marion, Ind. After a few stage and television roles, Dean was chosen to play the moody, rebellious son in the film East of Eden (1953...

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...

Bethune, Mary McLeod

(Encyclopedia)Bethune, Mary McLeod bəthyo͞onˈ [key], 1875–1955, American educator, b. Mayesville, S.C., grad. Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, 1895. The 17th child of former slaves, she taught (1895–1903) in ...

San Francisco Opera

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Opera, opera company, founded 1923 by Italian-American conductor Gaetano Merola, who oversaw its early years as a touring company. In 1932 it established a permanent home at the War Memo...

Dingell, John David, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Dingell, John David, Jr., 1928–2019, American congressman, b. Colorado Springs, Colo.; grad. Georgetown Univ. (B.S., 1949; J.D., 1952). He served in the Army (1944–46) and after a brief career in ...

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