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Bell, Alexander Melville

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Alexander Melville, 1819–1905, Scottish-American educator, b. Edinburgh. Bell worked out a physiological or visible alphabet, with symbols that were intended to represent every sound of the hu...

Westermarck, Edward Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Westermarck, Edward Alexander vĕsˈtərmärk, wĕsˈ– [key], 1862–1939, Finnish social philosopher and anthropologist. He was professor of sociology at the Univ. of London (1907–30) and profess...

Flinders Petrie, Sir William Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Flinders Petrie, Sir William Matthew: see Petrie, Sir William Matthew Flinders. ...

Petrie, Sir William Matthew Flinders

(Encyclopedia)Petrie, Sir William Matthew Flinders pēˈtrē [key], 1853–1942, English archaeologist, a noted Egyptologist. He excavated ancient remains in Britain (1875–80), Egypt (1880–1924), and Palestine ...

Synoptic Gospels

(Encyclopedia)Synoptic Gospels sĭnŏpˈtĭk [key] [Gr. synopsis=view together], the first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), considered as a unit. They bear greater similarity to each other than any of them ...

O'Neill, Shane

(Encyclopedia)O'Neill, Shane, 1530?–1567, Irish chieftain. The eldest son of Con O'Neill, 1st earl of Tyrone, he carried on a bitter feud with his father after Con accepted Henry VIII's nomination of Con's illegi...

Armenian literature

(Encyclopedia)Armenian literature. The Armenian Church fostered literature, and the principal early works are religious or hagiographical, most of them translations. The first major Armenian literary work is a 5th ...

Obrecht, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Obrecht, Jacob yäˈkōp ōˈbrĕkht [key], c.1450–1505, Flemish composer. Obrecht was ordained as a priest in 1480. He wrote an early four-part setting of the St. Matthew Passion. His sacred music ...

Mirrlees, Sir James Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Mirrlees, Sir James Alexander, 1936–2018, Scottish economist, Ph.D. He taught at Cambridge (1963–69, 1995–2003), Oxford (1969–95), and Chinese University of Hong Kong (2002–18). Building on ...

Macdonald, Sir John Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Macdonald, Sir John Alexander, 1815–91, Canadian statesman, first prime minister of the Dominion of Canada, b. Glasgow. His parents settled in 1820 in Kingston, Ont. Macdonald first practiced law. W...