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Rivoli Veronese

(Encyclopedia)Rivoli Veronese rēˈvōlē vārōnāˈzā [key], village (1991 pop. 52,683), Venetia, NE Italy, on the Adige River. It was the scene in Jan., 1797, of a decisive French victory over the Austrians. Ma...

Twelfth Night

(Encyclopedia)Twelfth Night, Jan. 5, the vigil or eve of Epiphany, so called because it is the 12th night from Christmas, counting Christmas as the first. In England, Twelfth Night has been a great festival marking...

Black Tom

(Encyclopedia)Black Tom, part of Jersey City, N.J., also called Black Tom Island. In July, 1916, German saboteurs demolished U.S. munitions stores there; in Jan., 1917, they destroyed the Kingsland, N.J., munitions...

Geary, John White

(Encyclopedia)Geary, John White gērˈē [key], 1819–73, American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In San Francisco from 1849 to 1852, Geary was the first U.S. postmaster, the l...

Cushing, William Barker

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, William Barker, 1842–74, Union naval hero in the Civil War, b. Delafield, Wis., educated at Annapolis. Cushing became noted for a series of daredevil exploits, particularly for his sinking ...

Agnes, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Agnes, Saint, 4th cent., virgin martyr. A noble Roman girl martyred at the age of 13 after rejecting a well-born suitor. She was included in the Depositio Martyrum of 354. On her feast day lambs are b...

Ghirlandaio, Domenico

(Encyclopedia)Ghirlandaio or Ghirlandajo, Domenico both: dōmĕˈnēkō gērländäˈyō [key], 1449–94, Florentine painter, whose family name was Bigordi. He may have studied painting and mosaics under Alesso Ba...

Elijah

(Encyclopedia)Elijah ēlīˈəs [key] [both: Heb.,=Yahweh is God], fl. c.875 b.c., Hebrew prophet in the reign of King Ahab. He is one of the outstanding figures of the Bible. Elijah's mission was to destroy the wo...

Lewis, John Robert

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, John Robert, 1940–2020, African-American politician and civil-rights leader, b. near Troy, Ala., B.A. American Baptist Theological Seminary, 19...

Masolino da Panicale

(Encyclopedia)Masolino da Panicale mäzōlēˈnō dä pänēkäˈlā [key], 1383–c.1447, Florentine painter of the early Renaissance, whose real name was Tommaso di Cristoforo Fini. His versatile painting incorpo...