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Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich mēkhəyĕlˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch shôˈləkhŏf [key], 1905–84, Russian novelist. Sholokhov won international fame for an epic novel of his native land, The Sil...

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...

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...

Gropius, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Gropius, Walter välˈtər grōˈpēo͝os [key], 1883–1969, German-American architect, one of the leaders of modern functional architecture. In Germany his Fagus factory buildings (1910–11) at Alf...

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...

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, ...

Paiute

(Encyclopedia)Paiute pīo͞otˈ [key], two distinct groups of Native North Americans speaking languages belonging to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native A...

Cavafy, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Cavafy, Constantine kônˌstäntēˈnôs pāˈtro͞o käväˈfēs [key], 1863–1933, Greek poet. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he spent most of his life there, but lived for about five years in England....