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Schiller, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Schiller, Friedrich von, 1759–1805, German dramatist, poet, and historian, one of the greatest of German literary figures, b. Marbach, Württemberg. The poets of German romanticism were strongly inf...

X-ray astronomy

(Encyclopedia)X-ray astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the X rays they emit, in the wavelength range from 0.01 to 10 nanometers. X-ray astronomy dates to 1949 with the discovery that the sun emits X ...

Herschel

(Encyclopedia)Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

Grass, Günter

(Encyclopedia)Grass, Günter günˈtər gräs [key], 1927–2015, German novelist, lyricist, artist, and playwright, b. Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Writing from his experience in the Hitler Youth, the German army...

New York Philharmonic

(Encyclopedia)New York Philharmonic, dating from 1842, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. The orchestra as it now exists is the result of the merger of the Philharmonic Society of New York with the...

Carlyle, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Carlyle, Thomas, 1795–1881, English author, b. Scotland. One of the most important social critics of his day, Carlyle influenced many men of the younger generation, among them Matthew Arnold and J...

Confucianism

(Encyclopedia)Confucianism kənfyo͞oˈshənĭzəm [key], moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects (see Chinese literature), the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient comme...

song

(Encyclopedia)song, relatively brief, simple vocal composition, usually a setting of a poetic text, often strophic, for accompanied solo voice. The song literature of Western music embodies two broad classification...

orbit

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Important points in a planet's orbit as seen from the earth orbit, in astronomy, path in space described by a body revolving about a second body where the motion of the orbiting bodies is domi...

Danish literature

(Encyclopedia)Danish literature, the literature of Denmark. By 1900 a lyrical reaction was being led by the poet J. J. Jørgensen; impressionistic themes became important, but were never the sole fruit of Danish ...