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William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

(Encyclopedia)William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, philanthropic organization founded in 1966 by engineer and entrepeneur William R. Hewlett (1913–2001), co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, his wife, Flora Lamson Hew...

Tetrazzini, Luisa

(Encyclopedia)Tetrazzini, Luisa lwēˈzä tāträt-tsēˈnē [key], 1871–1940, Italian coloratura soprano. She made her debut in Florence in 1890. After appearances in Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Latin America, ...

Burns, George

(Encyclopedia)Burns, George, 1896–1996, b. New York City as Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen, 1906–64, b. San Francisco, American comedy team (1923–58). In vaudeville in the 1920s, on radio (1932–...

Modjeska, Helena

(Encyclopedia)Modjeska, Helena məjĕˈskə [key], 1844–1909, Polish actress who achieved fame in the United States primarily for her Shakespearean interpretations. After initial acclaim in Warsaw, she emigrated ...

Harnett, William Michael

(Encyclopedia)Harnett, William Michael härˈnət [key], 1848–92, American painter, b. Ireland. He emigrated to Philadelphia as a child; he first learned engraving and then studied painting at the Pennsylvania Ac...

Gurdjieff, George Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Gurdjieff, George Ivanovich gûrjēfˈ, –jĕfˈ [key], 1872–1949, Armenian spiritualist and author. After spending years traveling, Gurdjieff settled in Moscow (c.1913). He fled the Russian Revolu...

Alarcón, Hernando de

(Encyclopedia)Alarcón, Hernando de ārnänˈdō dā älärkōnˈ [key], fl. 1540, Spanish explorer in the Southwest. He was given command of a fleet that was supposed to support the land expedition of Francisco V�...

Fátima

(Encyclopedia)Fátima fäˈtēmə [key], hamlet, W central Portugal, in Beira Litoral. At the nearby Cova da Iria is the national shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. This became a great Roman Catholic cent...

Paul-Boncour, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Paul-Boncour, Joseph zhôzĕfˈ pōl-bôNko͞orˈ [key], 1873–1972, French statesman. Although a Socialist, he remained independent of party ties from 1931 to 1945. He was permanent French delegate ...

Prusiner, Stanley Ben

(Encyclopedia)Prusiner, Stanley Ben, 1942–, American neurologist, b. Des Moines, Iowa, M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1968. Prusiner has been a professor at the Univ. of California, San Francisco ...