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bossism

(Encyclopedia)bossism, in U.S. history, system of political control centering about a single powerful figure (the boss) and a complex organization of lesser figures (the machine) bound together by reciprocity in pr...

Harding, Warren Gamaliel

(Encyclopedia)Harding, Warren Gamaliel gəmāˈlēəl [key], 1865–1923, 29th President of the United States (1921–23), b. Blooming Grove (now Corsica), Ohio. After study (1879–82) at Ohio Central College, he ...

Teamsters Union

(Encyclopedia)Teamsters Union, U.S. labor union formed in 1903 by the amalgamation of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union. Its full name is the International Brotherhood of Teamste...

Vergil

(Encyclopedia)Vergil or Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) both: vûrˈjil [key], 70 b.c.–19 b.c., Roman poet, b. Andes dist., near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul; the spelling Virgil is not found earlier than the 5th ce...

Grass, Günter

(Encyclopedia)Grass, Günter günˈtər gräs [key], 1927–2015, German novelist, lyricist, artist, and playwright, b. Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Writing from his experience in the Hitler Youth, the German army...

Dostoyevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Dostoyevsky or Dostoevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich fyôˈdər mēkhīˈləvĭch dəstəyĕfˈskē [key], 1821–81, Russian novelist, one of the towering figures of world literature. Notes from the Unde...

tap dance

(Encyclopedia)tap dance, theatrical dance form in which the dancer, wearing shoes with metal heel and toe taps, beats out complex, syncopated rhythms on the floor. After a slump in popularity in the 1960s, tap ...

sociology

(Encyclopedia)sociology, scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious. ...

calculator

(Encyclopedia)calculator or calculating machine, device for performing numerical computations; it may be mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic. The electronic computer is also a calculator but performs other...

outsider art

(Encyclopedia)outsider art, artwork created by typically unconventional and untrained artists from the margins of society and the art world. The term was coined in 1972 by British scholar and art critic Roger Cardi...