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Parker, Charlie “Bird”

(Encyclopedia)Parker, Charlie “Bird” (Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.), 1920–55, American musician and composer, b. Kansas City, Kans. He began playing alto saxophone in 1933 and, shifting from one band to an...

Bird, Larry Joe

(Encyclopedia)Bird, Larry Joe, 1956–, American basketball player, b. West Baden, Ind. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in basketball history, the 6-ft 9-in. Bird played for Indiana State Univ. (1...

Bird, Robert Montgomery

(Encyclopedia)Bird, Robert Montgomery, 1806–54, American playwright and novelist, b. New Castle, Del., M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1827. He wrote several prizewinning verse plays for the actor Edwin Forrest, nota...

bird of paradise

(Encyclopedia)bird of paradise, common name for any of 43 species of medium- to crow-sized passerine birds of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, known for the bright plumage, elongated tail feathers called wires,...

Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley

(Encyclopedia)Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, 1689–1762, English author, noted primarily for her highly descriptive letters. She was the daughter of the first duke of Kingston. In 1712 she married Edward Wortley Mont...

Lady of the Lake

(Encyclopedia)Lady of the Lake, in Arthurian legend, a misty, supernatural figure endowed with magic powers, who gave the sword Excalibur to King Arthur. She inhabited a castle in an underwater kingdom. According t...

Stanhope, Lady Hester Lucy

(Encyclopedia)Stanhope, Lady Hester Lucy, 1776–1839, English traveler. Leaving England in 1810, she traveled in the Levant, adopting Eastern male dress and a religion that was a composite of Christianity and Isla...

Visitation of Our Lady

(Encyclopedia)Visitation of Our Lady: see Mary. ...

Cory, William Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Cory, William Johnson, 1823–92, English poet and classicist. He was assistant master at Eton from 1845 to 1872. His verse, of which Ionica (1858) is the best known, consists primarily of imitations ...

Field, Stephen Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Field, Stephen Johnson, 1816–99, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1863–97), b. Haddam, Conn. After practicing law for several years in New York City with his brother D...