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Hirsch, Emil Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Hirsch, Emil Gustav hûrsh [key], 1851–1923, American rabbi, b. Luxembourg. He was rabbi in Baltimore and Louisville, Ky., but is best known for his work as rabbi of the Sinai congregation of Chicag...

Levites

(Encyclopedia)Levites lēˈvīts [key], a religious caste among the ancient Hebrews, descended from Jacob's son Levi and figuring prominently in the Bible. There were three divisions of Levites—Kohathites, Merari...

Lear, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Lear, Edward, 1812–88, English humorist and artist. At 19 he was employed as a draftsman by the London Zoological Society; the paintings of parrots that he produced for The Family of the Psittacidae...

Jones, Jim

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Jim, 1931–78, American religious leader, b. Lynn, Indiana. An influential Indianapolis preacher from the 1950s and onetime head of the city's Human Rights Commission, Jones formed the raciall...

Duran

(Encyclopedia)Duran, Durand düräNtˈ [key], Jewish family of scholars. Profiat Isaac ben Moshe ha-Levi Duran, 1350–1414, called Efodi, was born probably in Perpignan, France, but he moved to Catalonia. In 1391...

Unamuno, Miguel de

(Encyclopedia)Unamuno, Miguel de mēgĕlˈ dā o͞onämo͞oˈnō [key], 1864–1936, Spanish philosophical writer, of Basque descent, b. Bilbao. The chief Spanish philosopher of his time, he was professor of Greek ...

Banda, Rupiah Bwezani

(Encyclopedia)Banda, Rupiah Bwezani, 1937–, Zambian politician, president of Zambia (2008–11), b. Gwenda, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Educated in Ethiopia, Sweden, and England, he joined the United Nation...

Calvino, Italo

(Encyclopedia)Calvino, Italo ĭtəlō călvēˈnō [key], 1923–85, Italian novelist. Calvino was one of the most popular novelists of the 20th cent. Although loneliness is an essential condition in his writings, ...

Paz, Octavio

(Encyclopedia)Paz, Octavio oktäˈvyō päsˈ [key], 1914–98, Mexican poet and critic. A diplomat, he lived abroad many years. Paz's books—revealing depth of insight, elegance, and erudition—place him among h...

Israel, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Israel ĭzˈrēəl, ĭzˈrāəl [key] [as understood by Hebrews,=he strives with God], according to the book of Genesis, name given to Jacob as eponymous ancestor of the Hebrews, the chosen people of ...

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