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Gaveston, Piers

(Encyclopedia)Gaveston, Piers pērz găvˈəstən [key], d. 1312, favorite of Edward II of England. Son of a Gascon knight at the court of Edward I, he was a boyhood playmate of the future Edward II and acquired gr...

Andrade, Carlos Drummond de

(Encyclopedia)Andrade, Carlos Drummond de əndrädˈ [key], 1902–87, Brazilian poet. The son of landowners, he worked as a journalist before earning (1925) a degree in pharmacology. In 1928 Andrade became a civil...

Behbahani, Simin

(Encyclopedia)Behbahani, Simin, 1927–2014, Iranian poet and political activist, b. Tehran as Siminbar Khalili. The daughter of intellectuals, she studied law at the Univ. of Tehran, then worked as a teacher of sc...

Baker, Josephine

(Encyclopedia)Baker, Josephine, 1906–75, African-American dancer and singer, b. St. Louis, Mo., as Freda Josephine McDonald. In 1923 and 1924 she appeared in Broadw...

Printz, Johan Björnsson

(Encyclopedia)Printz, Johan Björnsson yo͞oˈhän byörnˈsōn prĭnts [key], 1592–1663, colonial governor of New Sweden, b. Bottnaryd, Sweden. After serving as a mercenary in the armies of various European prin...

Padilla, Juan de

(Encyclopedia)Padilla, Juan de hwän dā päᵺēˈlyä [key], c.1490–1521, Spanish revolutionary leader in the war of the comuneros [municipalities] against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Charles's conduct and hi...

Galle

(Encyclopedia)Galle gäl [key], city (1995 est. pop. 87,000), capital of Southern prov., extreme S Sri Lanka, on the Indian Ocean. An agricultural market center, it exports tea, rubber, coconut oil, cloves, and oth...

Dung, Nguyen Tan

(Encyclopedia)Dung, Nguyen Tan nəwēˈĭn tän dŭng [key], 1949–, Vietnamese political leader. Educated in Vietnam, he received a bachelor's degree in law. A career security officer, Dung joined the Vietnamese ...

Handy, W. C.

(Encyclopedia)Handy, W. C. (William Christopher Handy), 1873–1958, American songwriter and band leader, b. Florence, Ala. Largely self-taught, Handy began his career as a cornet player in a minstrel show in 1896,...

Kanauj

(Encyclopedia)Kanauj or Kannauj both: kənoujˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 58,932), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. It is a market center for tobacco, perfume, and rose water. A very ancient ...