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Pareto, Vilfredo

(Encyclopedia)Pareto, Vilfredo vēlfrĕˈdō pärĕˈtō [key], 1848–1923, Italian economist and sociologist, b. Paris, of an exiled noble family that returned to Italy in 1858. He studied mathematics and enginee...

McCarthy, Mary Therese

(Encyclopedia)McCarthy, Mary Therese, 1912–89, American writer, b. Seattle, grad. Vassar, 1933. As drama critic for the Partisan Review (1937–45), she gained a reputation for wit, intellect, and acerbity. Her n...

Calvert, George, 1st Baron Baltimore

(Encyclopedia)Calvert, George, 1st Baron Baltimore, c.1580–1632, English colonizer of North America. In 1606 he became private secretary to Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, then a secretary of state. His advance ...

Villars, Claude Louis Hector, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Villars, Claude Louis Hector, duc de klōd lwē ĕktôrˈ dük də vēlärˈ [key], 1653–1734, marshal of France, the last of the great generals of Louis XIV. He fought in the Dutch War (1672–78) ...

Wilson, Colin

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Colin, 1931–2013, English writer, b. Leicester. Born into a working-class family and largely self-educated, Wilson in many of his books exhorts humankind to expand its powers and realize its...

Ziegfeld, Florenz

(Encyclopedia)Ziegfeld, Florenz flôrˈənz zēgˈfĕld [key], 1869–1932, American theatrical producer, b. Chicago. The talent manager son of a German immigrant, in 1907 he first produced the Ziegfeld Follies, fo...

Rand, Ayn

(Encyclopedia)Rand, Ayn īn [key], 1905–82, American writer, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, as Alissa Rosenbaum. She came to the United States in 1926, became a citizen five years later, and worked for many years as ...

Renoir, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Renoir, Jean zhäN rənwärˈ [key], 1894–1979, French film director and writer, b. Paris; son of Pierre Auguste Renoir. He made his first film in 1926. Gathering around him a devoted coterie of act...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

Dusek, Jan Ladislav

(Encyclopedia)Dusek, Jan Ladislav yän läˈdēsläf do͞oˈshĕk [key], 1760–1812, Czech pianist and composer; pupil of C. P. E. Bach. One of the earliest piano virtuosi, he was famous for his lyrical touch in s...