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Hemings, Sally

(Encyclopedia)Hemings, Sally, 1773–1835, African-American slave owned by Thomas Jefferson, b. Charles City co., Va.; her original name was probably Sarah. Her father was John Wayles, Jefferson's father-in-law; he...

Visconti

(Encyclopedia)Visconti vēskônˈtē [key], Italian family that ruled Milan from the 13th cent. until 1447. In the 12th cent. members of the family received the title of viscount, from which the name is derived. Ot...

National Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Washington, D.C., founded in 1931 by Hans Kindler, who conducted the orchestra until 1949. Its first home was Constitution Hall; since 1986 it has been affiliated wi...

Rivlin, Alice M.

(Encyclopedia)Rivlin, Alice M., 1931–2019, American economist, b. Philadelphia as Georgianna Alice Mitchell, Ph.D. Harvard, 1958. Rivlin was affiliated with the Brookings Institution at various times from 1957 un...

fiat money

(Encyclopedia)fiat money fīˈət, fīˈăt [key], inconvertible money that is made legal tender by the decree, or fiat, of the government but that is not covered by a specie reserve. It is commonly understood to b...

Teresina

(Encyclopedia)Teresina tārāzēˈnä [key], city (1991 pop. 599,272), capital of Piauí state, NE Brazil, on the Parnaíba River. It is the main commercial and agricultural distribution center in the Parnaíba val...

Ferri, Ciro

(Encyclopedia)Ferri, Ciro chēˈrō fĕrˈrē [key], 1634–89, Italian baroque painter, etcher, and architect, the most celebrated pupil of Pietro da Cortona. He imitated Cortona's style with such success that he ...

Foggini, Giovanni Batista

(Encyclopedia)Foggini, Giovanni Batista jōvänˈnē bätēsˈtä fōdjēˈnē [key], 1652–1725, Italian sculptor and architect. An important exponent of the Florentine baroque style, Foggini followed Roman model...

Hémon, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Hémon, Louis lwē āmôNˈ [key], 1880–1913, French Canadian novelist, b. France. After working as a journalist for French publications in England (1903–11), he moved to Quebec, where he worked a...

Guimerà, Ángel

(Encyclopedia)Guimerà, Ángel änˈzhĕl gēmāräˈ [key], 1845?–1924, Catalan poet and dramatist. His first successful play, Mar y cel [sea and sky] (1888), was followed by many others, among them Maria Rosa (...