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Berle, Milton

(Encyclopedia)Berle, Milton, 1908–2002, American entertainer, b. New York City as Milton Berlinger. Berle first performed in vaudeville and on (1939–48) radio. His great success, however, came as television's f...

Sharon, plain, Israel

(Encyclopedia)Sharon shāˈrən, shârˈən [key], plain between the Samarian Hills of central Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, extending c.50 mi (80 km) from Jaffa to Caesarea, and mentioned several times in the ...

Bate, William Brimage

(Encyclopedia)Bate, William Brimage brĭmˈĭj [key], 1826–1905, U.S. politician and Confederate general, b. Castalian Springs, Tenn. He served in the Mexican War and was involved in Tennessee politics before ent...

Stopes, Marie Carmichael

(Encyclopedia)Stopes, Marie Carmichael stōps [key], 1880–1958, British paleobotanist and eugenicist, b. Edinburgh, D.Sc. Univ. of London, Ph.D. Univ. of Munich. She lectured on paleobotany at the universities of...

Chaos

(Encyclopedia)Chaos kāˈōs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, vacant, unfathomable space. From it arose all things, earthly and divine. There are various legends explaining it. In one version, Eurynome rose ...

Excalibur

(Encyclopedia)Excalibur ĕkskălˈĭbər [key], in Arthurian legend, sword given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. At Arthur's death Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the lake; a hand rose from the water, cau...

Gravely, Samuel Lee, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Gravely, Samuel Lee, Jr., 1922–2004, U.S. naval officer, the first African American to hold the rank of admiral, b. Richmond, Va. Joining the Naval Reserves in 1942, he became (1944) the first Afric...

Gorzów Wielkopolski

(Encyclopedia)Gorzów Wielkopolski gôrˈzo͞of vyĕlkôpôlˈskē [key], Ger. Landsberg an der Warthe, city (1994 est. pop. 125,800), capital (with Zielona Góra) of Lubuskie prov., W Poland, on the Warthe River. ...

Friml, Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Friml, Rudolf (Charles Rudolf Friml) frĭmˈəl [key], 1879–1972, American composer, b. Prague. Friml lived in the United States after 1906. The best-known of his 33 light operas are The Firefly (19...

Jean de Meun

(Encyclopedia)Jean de Meun zhäN də möN [key], d. 1305, French poet, also known as Jean Chopinel (or Clopinel) of Meung-sur-Loire. He wrote the second part of the Roman de la Rose and made translations from Latin...