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dragon's blood

(Encyclopedia)dragon's blood, name for a red resin obtained from a number of different plants. It was held by early Greeks, Romans, and Arabs to have medicinal properties; Dioscorides and other early writers descri...

Eckener, Hugo

(Encyclopedia)Eckener, Hugo, 1868–1954, German airship designer and pilot, Ph.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1892. As a journalist he covered early flights of Zeppelin's first rigid airships. He joined (1908) Zeppelin's co...

Han Han

(Encyclopedia)Han Han, 1982–, Chinese writer and auto racing driver. His first novel, the scathing Triple Door, written at age 19, was based on his experiences with China's educational system, and was a runaway b...

Jouvenel, Henry de

(Encyclopedia)Jouvenel, Henry de äNrēˈ də zho͞ovənĕlˈ [key], 1876–1935, French statesman and journalist. Although from an early age influential in politics, he refused to join a party, claiming that exist...

Bahía Blanca

(Encyclopedia)Bahía Blanca blängˈkä [key], city, Buenos Aires prov., SE Argentina, a port near the head of the ...

veil

(Encyclopedia)veil, a feature of female costume from antiquity, especially in the East, where it was worn primarily to conceal the features. In modern times it is worn to enhance the face. The Egyptian woman of ran...

magic, in entertainment

(Encyclopedia)magic, in entertainment, the seeming manipulation and supernatural control of the natural world for the amusement and amazement of an audience. Entertainment magic can be divided into four main catego...

Beethoven, Ludwig van

(Encyclopedia)Beethoven, Ludwig van lŭdˈwĭg văn bāˈtōvən, Ger. lo͝otˈvĭkh fän bātˈhōfən [key], 1770–1827, German composer. He is universally recognized as one of the greatest composers of the West...

Eastern Question

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Question, term designating the problem of European territory controlled by the decaying Ottoman Empire in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th cent. The Turkish threat to Europe was checked by the H...

Joyce, James

(Encyclopedia)Joyce, James, 1882–1941, Irish novelist. Perhaps the most influential and significant novelist of the 20th cent., Joyce was a master of the English language, exploiting all of its resources. His nov...