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John Bosco, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Bosco, Saint, 1815–88, Italian priest, b. Piedmont. As a priest at Turin he was very successful in work with boys. He founded (1841) the Salesian order (i.e., order of St. Francis de Sales) for...

Blair, Montgomery

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Montgomery, 1813–83, U.S. Postmaster General (1861–64), b. Franklin co., Ky., son of Francis P. Blair (1791–1876). He resigned from the army in 1836 after serving against the Seminole and...

Italian Wars

(Encyclopedia)Italian Wars, 1494–1559, series of regional wars brought on by the efforts of the great European powers to control the small independent states of Italy. Renaissance Italy was split into numerous ri...

Shanxi

(Encyclopedia)Shanxi or Shansi shänˈshēˈ [key], province (2010 pop. 35,712,111), c.60,000 sq mi (155,400 sq km), NE China. The capital is Taiyuan. It is bounded on the west and the south by the Huang He (Yellow...

pasta

(Encyclopedia)pasta, generic name for thin pieces of hardened, unleavened dough that are molded into various shapes and boiled, not baked. Pasta is commonly associated with Italian cuisine, though similar wheat flo...

Lyric Opera of Chicago

(Encyclopedia)Lyric Opera of Chicago, opera company founded 1954 as the Lyric Theatre of Chicago; it was renamed prior to its 1956 season. The company performs at the ornate Lyric Opera House, formerly the Civic Op...

Ashe, Arthur Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ashe, Arthur Robert, 1943–93, American tennis player, b. Richmond, Va. Ashe rose from his hometown's public courts to become the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis. He won the...

Kramer, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer), 1921–2009, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. He excelled at tennis while still in high school. Kramer and Frederick (Ted) Schroeder won the U.S. national ...

Robinson, Eddie

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Eddie (Edward Gay Robinson), 1919–2007, African-American football coach, b. Jackson, La., grad. Leland College, Baker, La. (B.A., 1941), Univ. of Iowa (M.A., 1954). A college quarterback, ...

Clay, Clement Claiborne

(Encyclopedia)Clay, Clement Claiborne, 1816–82, U.S. Senator (1853–61), b. Huntsville, Ala. A legislator and then a judge in his native state, he was twice elected to the U.S. Senate and became an ardent defend...