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Lachenmann, Helmut

(Encyclopedia)Lachenmann, Helmut, 1935–, German composer, b. Stuttgart. One of the most influential European composers of the late 20th and early 21st cents., he studied in Venice with Luigi Nono (1958–60) and ...

kithara

(Encyclopedia)kithara sĭthˈ– [key], musical instrument of the ancient Greeks. It was a plucked instrument, a larger and stronger form of the lyre, used by professional musicians both for solo playing and for th...

Yeager, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Yeager, Chuck (Charles Elwood Yeager) yāˈgər [key], 1923–2020, American aviator, b. Myra, W.Va. An ace fighter pilot during World War II, he was a military test pilot during the early postwar yea...

Bragg, Sir William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Bragg, Sir William Henry, 1862–1942, English physicist, educated at King William's College, Isle of Man, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served on the faculties of the Univ. of Adelaide in Austra...

basenji

(Encyclopedia)basenji bəsĕnˈjē [key], breed of medium-sized hound whose origins can be traced back several thousand years to Africa and the courts of the Egyptian pharaohs. It stands about 17 in. (43.2 cm) high...

Sandwich, John Montagu, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Sandwich, John Montagu, 4th earl of, 1718–92, British politician. He served variously as secretary of state (1763–65, 1770–71) and first lord of the admiralty (1748–51, 1763, 1771–82). He ea...

Pickford, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Pickford, Mary, 1893–1979, American movie actress, b. Toronto, Ont. In 1909 she began working with D. W. Griffith. Specializing in playing young girls, she was dubbed “America's Sweetheart.” Her...

Villèle, Jean Baptiste Séraphin Joseph, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Villèle, Jean Baptiste Séraphin Joseph, comte de zhäN bätēstˈ sāräfăNˈ zhôzĕfˈ kôNt də vēlĕlˈ [key], 1773–1854, French statesman and premier (1822–28). Elected (1815) a deputy af...

Coxe, Tench

(Encyclopedia)Coxe, Tench kŏks [key], 1755–1824, American political economist, b. Philadelphia. He entered his father's mercantile business in 1776, but after 1790, when he became assistant to Alexander Hamilton...

Davis, John

(Encyclopedia)Davis or Davys, John, 1550?–1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest Passage in 1585, continuing the work of Martin Frobisher. On this voyage he discovered Cumber...