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Berlin, Sir Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Sir Isaiah, 1909–97, English political scientist, b. Riga, Latvia (then in Russia). His family moved to St. Petersburg when he was a boy and emigrated to London in 1921. He was educated at O...

Bogart, Humphrey DeForest

(Encyclopedia)Bogart, Humphrey DeForest bōˈgärt [key], 1899–1957, American film actor, b. New York City. After a succession of stage roles he achieved note with his portrayal of the gangster Duke Mantee in The...

Abbey Theatre

(Encyclopedia)Abbey Theatre, Irish theatrical company devoted primarily to indigenous drama. W. B. Yeats was a leader in founding (1902) the Irish National Theatre Society with Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, and A. E. ...

Bonnefoy, Yves

(Encyclopedia)Bonnefoy, Yves ēv bônfwäˈ [key], 1923–2016, French poet, critic, and translator of many of Shakespeare's plays and poems, studied Univ. of Poitier, Sorbonne. His verse, e.g., On the Motion and I...

Burr, Aaron

(Encyclopedia)Burr, Aaron, 1756–1836, American political leader, b. Newark, N.J., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Soon after Hamilton's death, Burr left Washington on a journey to New Orleans, at t...

Narayan, R. K.

(Encyclopedia)Narayan, R. K. (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) nərīˈyän [key], 1906–2001, Indian novelist, b. Madras (now Chennai). Narayan, who wrote in English, published his first novel, Swami and Friends, ...

Comintern

(Encyclopedia)Comintern kəmĭntārnˈ [key] [acronym for Communist International], name given to the Third International, founded at Moscow in 1919. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin feared a resurgence of the Second, or Soci...

chocolate

(Encyclopedia)chocolate, general term for the products of the seeds of the cacao or chocolate tree, used for making beverages or confectionery. The flavor of chocolate depends not only on the quality of the cocoa n...

chamber music

(Encyclopedia)chamber music, ensemble music for small groups of instruments, with only one player to each part. Its essence is individual treatment of parts and the exclusion of virtuosic elements. Originally playe...

Andersen, Hans Christian

(Encyclopedia)Andersen, Hans Christian, 1805–75, Danish poet, novelist, and writer of fairy tales. Born to an illiterate washerwoman and reared in poverty, he left Odense at 14 for Copenhagen, where he lived with...