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Herbert, Zbigniew

(Encyclopedia)Herbert, Zbigniew zbēgˈnyĕf khĕrˈbĕrt [key] 1924–98, Polish poet, essayist, and playwright, b. Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine). Herbert, who had degrees in economics, philosophy, and law, wa...

hyacinth, in botany

(Encyclopedia)hyacinth, any plant of the genus Hyacinthus, bulbous herbs of the family Liliaceae (lily family) native to the Mediterranean region and South Africa. The common, or Dutch, hyacinth of house and garden...

Donoso, José

(Encyclopedia)Donoso, José hōsāˈ dōnōˈsō [key], 1924–96, Chilean novelist and short-story writer, b. Santiago. He attended Princeton and taught there and at the Univ. of Iowa (1965–67). Donoso moved to ...

Hellman, Lillian

(Encyclopedia)Hellman, Lillian, 1905–84, American dramatist, b. New Orleans. Her plays, although often melodramatic, are marked by intelligence and craftsmanship. The Children's Hour (1934), her first drama, conc...

Jones, Inigo

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Inigo ĭnˈĭgōˌ [key], 1573–1652, one of England's first great architects. Son of a London clothmaker, he was enabled to travel in Europe before 1603 to study paintings, perhaps at the exp...

Kean, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Kean, Edmund, 1787?–1833, English actor. Kean's acting expressed the ideal of the romantic temperament. A small man with a wild spirit and a gruff voice, he was lauded for his facial mobility; accor...

kindergarten

(Encyclopedia)kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary s...

Battery, the

(Encyclopedia)Battery, the, park, 21 acres (8.5 hectares), southern tip of Manhattan island, New York City; site of former Dutch and English fortifications. Castle Clinton, a fort built in 1808 for the defense of N...

sunflower

(Encyclopedia)sunflower, any plant of the genus Helianthus of the family Asteraceae (aster family), annual or perennial herbs native to the New World and common throughout the United States. In cultivation, the flo...

Tacoma

(Encyclopedia)Tacoma təkōˈmə [key], city (1990 pop. 176,664), seat of Pierce co., W Wash., on Commencement Bay and Puget Sound at the mouth of the Puyallup River; inc. 1884. It is a major seaport and railroad t...