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Ball, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Ball, Thomas, 1819–1911, American sculptor, b. Charlestown, Mass.; son of a house and sign painter. Thomas Ball was also a singer of reputation, the first in the United States to sing the title role...

Fleming, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Fleming, Peggy, 1948–, American ice skater, b. San Jose, Calif. She began skating at age 9, and after distinguished accomplishments as a juvenile and novice skater, she was U.S. Ladies Champion from...

hyperbole

(Encyclopedia)hyperbole hīpûrˈbəlē [key], a figure of speech in which exceptional exaggeration is deliberately used for emphasis rather than deception. Andrew Marvell employed hyperbole throughout To His Coy M...

Andromache

(Encyclopedia)Andromache ăndrŏˈməkē [key], in Greek mythology, Trojan princess, wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax. After the Trojan War she was carried away by Neoptolemus, whose father, Achilles, had slai...

Justin Morgan

(Encyclopedia)Justin Morgan, 1792–1821, American horse, the foundation sire of the Justin Morgan breed of horses. Originally called “Figure,” the stallion was renamed for his first owner, Justin Morgan (1747�...

personification

(Encyclopedia)personification, figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are endowed with human qualities, e.g., allegorical morality plays where characters include Good Deeds, Beauty, and Death...

Camphausen, Ludolf

(Encyclopedia)Camphausen, Ludolf lo͞oˈdôlf kämpˈhouzən [key], 1803–90, Prussian statesman and businessman. A leading merchant in Cologne, he headed the liberal ministry appointed by King Frederick William I...

Bowers, Eilley

(Encyclopedia)Bowers, Eilley, c.1827–1903, American frontier figure, b. Eilley Orrum in Scotland. She became a Mormon and moved (1855) to Nevada with her second husband. He returned (1857) to Salt Lake City, but ...

Boyd, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Boyd, Ernest, 1887–1946, American critic and author, b. Dubin, Ireland. In the British consular service, he resigned in 1920 and settled in New York City, where he became an important literary figur...

Camus, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Camus, Albert älbĕrˈ kämüˈ [key], 1913–60, French writer, b. Mondovi (now Dréan). Camus was one of the most important authors and thinkers of the 20th cent. While a philosophy student at the ...

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