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Petronas Towers

(Encyclopedia)Petronas Towers, twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that are the world's tallest twin towers. Standing 1,483 ft (452 m) high, they were designed by the Argentinian-American architect César P...

Neurath, Otto

(Encyclopedia)Neurath, Otto, 1882–1945, Austrian philosopher, social scientist, and design theorist, b. Vienna. During the 1920s and 30s he was both a Marxist and a member of the Vienna Circle, an exponent of log...

Babur

(Encyclopedia)Babur bäˈbər [key] [Turk.,=lion], 1483–1530, founder of the Mughal empire of India. His full name was Zahir ud-Din Muhammad. A descendant of Timur (Tamerlane) and of Jenghiz Khan, he succeeded (1...

Puccini, Giacomo

(Encyclopedia)Puccini, Giacomo jäˈkōmō po͞ot-chēˈnē [key], 1858–1924, Italian composer of operas. He wrote some of the most popular works in the opera repertory. A descendant of a long line of musicians, ...

Richardson, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Samuel, 1689–1761, English novelist, b. Derbyshire. When he was 50 and a prosperous printer, Richardson was asked to compose a guide to letter writing. The idea of introducing a central ...

Odets, Clifford

(Encyclopedia)Odets, Clifford ōdĕtsˈ [key], 1906–63, American dramatist, b. Philadelphia. After graduating from high school he became an actor and in 1931 joined the Group Theatre. Turning his attention from a...

Stuart, Charles Edward

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, Charles Edward, 1720–88, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. First son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie and as the Yo...

Tarnovsky, Andrei

(Encyclopedia)Tarnovsky, Andrei, 1932–86, Soviet film director, grad. State Institute of Cinematography (1960), where he made several notable short films. The son of poet Arseni Tarkovsky, he is perhaps the fines...

Taiping Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Taiping Rebellion, 1850–64, revolt against the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty of China. It was led by Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, a visionary from Guangdong who evolved a political creed and messianic religious ide...

Sumner, William Graham

(Encyclopedia)Sumner, William Graham, 1840–1910, American sociologist and political economist, b. Paterson, N.J., grad. Yale, 1863, and studied in Germany, in Switzerland, and at Oxford. He was ordained an Episco...