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Porter, Katherine Anne

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890–1980, American author, b. Indian Creek, Tex., as Callie Russell Porter. Although she published infrequently, she is regarded as a master of the short story. Her first bo...

Herbart, Johann Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Herbart, Johann Friedrich yōˈhän frēˈdrĭkh hĕrˈbärt [key], 1776–1841, German philosopher and educator. Influenced by Leibniz, Kant, and Fichte, Herbart made many important contributions to ...

indulgence

(Encyclopedia)indulgence, in the Roman Catholic Church, the pardon of temporal punishment due for sin. It is to be distinguished from absolution and the forgiveness of guilt. The church grants indulgences out of th...

Eco, Umberto

(Encyclopedia)Eco, Umberto əmbĕrˈtō ĕcō [key], 1932–2016, Italian novelist, essayist, and semiotics scholar. His first novel, the best-selling Il nome della rosa (1980; tr. The Name of the Rose, 1983, film ...

Wolf, Christa

(Encyclopedia)Wolf, Christa krēsˈtä vôlf [key], 1929–2011, German novelist. After attending the universities of Jena and Leipzig, she worked as an editor of literary journals. A committed communist in her ear...

Bohigas, Oriol

(Encyclopedia) Bohigas, Oriol, 1925-2021, Spanish modernist architect, b. Barcelona, Spain, as Oriol Bohigas i Guardiola, Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de...

Armey, Dick

(Encyclopedia)Armey, Dick (Richard Keith Armey) ärˈmē [key], 1940–, U.S. congressman, b. Cando, N.Dak., grad. Jamestown College, Univ. of Oklahoma (Ph.D.). A Republican and former economics professor at North ...

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Christmas Island, tropical island, 60 sq mi (155 sq km), an external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean c.200 mi (320 km) S of Java. The majori...

Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Jr., 1912–2002, American air force general, b. Washington, D.C.; son of Benjamin Oliver Davis. After studying at Western Reserve and Chicago universities, he attended West Po...

Trudeau, Justin Pierre James

(Encyclopedia)Trudeau, Justin Pierre James tro͞odōˈ [key], 1971–, Canadian politician, b. Ottawa; grad. McGill Univ. (B.A., 1994), Univ. of British Columbia (B.Ed., 1998), son of Pierre Trudeau. He briefly tau...

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