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Olatunji, Babatunde

(Encyclopedia)Olatunji, Babatunde, 1927–2003, Nigerian drummer, b. Ajido. Educated in the United States, he graduated from Atlanta's Morehouse College in 1954 and studied at New York Univ. A Yoruba, steeped in tr...

Teresa, Mother

(Encyclopedia)Teresa, Mother (Saint Teresa of Calcutta), 1910–97, Roman Catholic missionary in India, winner of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, b. Skopje (now in North Macedonia) as Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu. Of Albanian...

Spengler, Oswald

(Encyclopedia)Spengler, Oswald spĕngˈglər, Ger. ôsˈvält shpĕngˈglər [key], 1880–1936, German historian and philosopher. His studies covered many fields, among them mathematics, science, philosophy, histo...

Venus's-flytrap

(Encyclopedia)Venus's-flytrap, insectivorous or carnivorous bog plant (Dionaea muscipula) native to the Carolina savannas and now widely cultivated as a novelty. The leaves, borne in a low rosette, resemble bear tr...

Malcolm X

(Encyclopedia)Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. A petty crimi...

Hulagu Khan

(Encyclopedia)Hulagu Khan ho͞oläˈgo͞o khän [key], 1217–65, Mongol conqueror, grandson of Jenghiz Khan. His brother Mangu, grand khan of the Mongols, directed him to quell a revolt in Persia. In 1256, in the ...

Ismail, shah of Persia

(Encyclopedia)Ismail ĭsmäēlˈ [key], 1486–1524, shah of Persia (1502–24), founder of the Safavid dynasty. He restored Persia to the position of a sovereign state for the first time since the Arab invasion of...

Janissaries

(Encyclopedia)Janissaries jănˈĭsârˌēz [key] [Turk.,=recruits], elite corps in the service of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). It was composed of war captives and Christian youths pressed into service; all the rec...

Qayrawan, Al

(Encyclopedia)Qayrawan, Al kīrwänˈ, Fr. kĕrwäNˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 102,600), NE Tunisia. It is a sacred city of Islam. Founded in 670 by Uqbah bin Nafi, an Arab leader, it was the seat of Arab governors i...

Moravian Church

(Encyclopedia)Moravian Church, Renewed Church of the Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum yo͞onēˈtäs fräˈtro͝om [key], an evangelical Christian communion whose adherents are sometimes called United Brethren or Herrn...