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cocklebur

(Encyclopedia)cocklebur or clotbur, any species of the genus Xanthium, widely distributed, coarse annual plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family). They are often persistent weeds; the two-seeded oval burrs ar...

Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th earl of, 1694–1773, English statesman and author. A noted wit and orator, his long public career, begun in 1715, included an ambassadorship to The Hague (17...

Abbado, Claudio

(Encyclopedia)Abbado, Claudio, 1933–2014, Italian conductor, b. Milan. He debuted (1960) in his native city, conducting the orchestra at La Scala, where he subsequently served (1968–86) as musical director. He ...

Pynchon, John

(Encyclopedia)Pynchon, John pĭnˈchən [key], c.1626–1703, American colonist and merchant, b. England; son of William Pynchon. He emigrated to Massachusetts Bay colony with his father in 1630. When his father re...

Baliol, John de, d. 1269, founder of Balliol College, Oxford

(Encyclopedia)Baliol, John de, d. 1269, nobleman with lands in both England and Scotland; founder of Balliol College, Oxford. The name is also spelled Balliol. In 1249 he became a member of the Scottish council of ...

Nazor, Vladimir

(Encyclopedia)Nazor, Vladimir vlədyēˈmĭr näˈzôr [key], 1876–1949, Yugoslav poet and novelist, b. Croatia. Nazor's early career paralleled the emergence of the Young Croatian literary movement. His verses i...

Vrchlický, Jaroslav

(Encyclopedia)Vrchlický, Jaroslav yäˈrôsläf vŭrkhˈlĭtskē [key], pseud. of Emil Bohuslav Frída, 1853–1912, Czech writer. Vrchlický, a poetic virtuoso, produced nearly 85 volumes of lyric verse, much of ...

Warner, Rex

(Encyclopedia)Warner, Rex, 1905–86, English author, b. Birmingham, grad. Oxford, 1928. A classical scholar noted for his translations from Greek and Latin, Warner taught in England, Egypt, and the United States. ...

Börne, Karl Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Börne, Karl Ludwig lo͝otˈvĭkh börˈnə [key], 1786–1837, German journalist, of Jewish origin. His original name was Löb Baruch. He studied medicine and political science and held office in Fra...

Lehmann, John

(Encyclopedia)Lehmann, John lāˈmən [key], 1907–89, English poet, editor, and publisher. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he began working at Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1931 and manage...