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Szell, George

(Encyclopedia)Szell, George sĕl [key], 1897–1970, American conductor and pianist, b. Budapest. He moved with his family to Vienna during his childhood and started his piano training at an early age studying at t...

Sills, Beverly

(Encyclopedia)Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to voice studie...

Henry III, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry III, 1017–56, Holy Roman emperor (1046–56) and German king (1039–56), son and successor of Conrad II. He was crowned joint king with his father in 1028, and acceded on Conrad's death in 10...

Mercier, Désiré Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Mercier, Désiré Joseph dāzērāˈ zhôzĕfˈ mârsēāˈ [key], 1851–1926, Belgian churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained in 1874 and eight years later became professor...

Tula , city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Tula to͞oˈlə [key], city (1991 pop. 545,000), capital of Tula region, N central European Russia, on the Upa River, a tributary of the Oka. It is an important rail and highway hub and a manufacturin...

Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier

(Encyclopedia)Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier zāˈvyər kəbrēˈnē [key], 1850–1917, American nun, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, b. near Lodi, Italy. Founded in Italy in 1880, h...

Yeager, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Yeager, Chuck (Charles Elwood Yeager) yāˈgər [key], 1923–2020, American aviator, b. Myra, W.Va. An ace fighter pilot during World War II, he was a military test pilot during the early postwar yea...

Cancer, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Cancer [Lat.,=the crab], in astronomy, constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Gemini and Leo; it is a constellation of the zodiac. It contains the st...

Castiglione, Baldassare, Conte

(Encyclopedia)Castiglione, Baldassare, Conte bäldäs-säˈrā kōnˈtā kästēlyōˈnā [key], 1478–1529, Italian soldier, author, and statesman attached to the court of the duke of Milan and later in the servi...

Berlin, Sir Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Sir Isaiah, 1909–97, English political scientist, b. Riga, Latvia (then in Russia). His family moved to St. Petersburg when he was a boy and emigrated to London in 1921. He was educated at O...