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marriage

(Encyclopedia)marriage, socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family. In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy (the obligation to marry outside a group); some societie...

hydrogen bomb

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, weapon deriving a large portion of its energy from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes. In an atomic bomb, uranium or plutonium is split into lighter elements that togethe...

Michelangelo Buonarroti

(Encyclopedia)Michelangelo Buonarroti mīkəlănˈjəlō, Ital. mēkālänˈjālō bwōnär-rôˈtē [key], 1475–1564, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet, b. Caprese, Tuscany. In his architectura...

Christianity

(Encyclopedia)Christianity, religion founded in Palestine by the followers of Jesus. One of the world's major religions, it predominates in Europe and the Americas, where it has been a powerful historical force and...

Home Rule

(Encyclopedia)Home Rule, in Irish and English history, political slogan adopted by Irish nationalists in the 19th cent. to describe their objective of self-government for Ireland. Escalating violence between Prot...

symphony

(Encyclopedia)symphony [Gr.,=sounding together], a sonata for orchestra. The Italian operatic overture, called sinfonia, was standardized by Alessandro Scarlatti at the end of the 17th cent. into three sections, th...

William II, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1859–1941, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia (1888–1918), son and successor of Frederick III and grandson of William I of Germany and of Queen Victoria of England. After the out...

romanticism

(Encyclopedia)romanticism, term loosely applied to literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and 19th cent. Romanticism in music was characterized by an emphasis on emotion and great freedom of form. It...

Newman, Saint John Henry

(Encyclopedia)Newman, SaintJohn Henry, 1801–90, English churchman, theologian, and writer, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the founders of the Oxford movement, b. London. Newman was canonized in 201...

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

(Encyclopedia)Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand gänˈdē [key], 1869–1948, Indian political and spiritual leader, b. Porbandar. In 1942, after rejection of his offer to cooperate with Great Britain in World War II ...