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diesel engine

(Encyclopedia)diesel engine, type of internal-combustion engine invented by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel and patented by him in 1892. Although his engine was designed to use coal dust as fuel, the diesel engin...

Francis Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Francis Joseph or Franz Joseph, 1830–1916, emperor of Austria (1848–1916), king of Hungary (1867–1916), nephew of Ferdinand, who abdicated in his favor. His long reign began in the stormy days o...

Sturm und Drang

(Encyclopedia)Sturm und Drang shto͝orm o͝ont dräng [key] or Storm and Stress, movement in German literature that flourished from c.1770 to c.1784. It takes its name from a play by F. M. von Klinger, Wirrwarr; od...

Baade, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Baade, Walter välˈtər bäˈdə [key], 1893–1960, German-born American astronomer. From 1919 to 1931 he was on the staff of the Hamburg observatory; from 1931 to 1958, at the Mt. Wilson observator...

Fonteyn, Dame Margot

(Encyclopedia)Fonteyn, Dame Margot fŏntānˈ [key], 1919–91, English ballerina. Fonteyn was for many years prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet. Her original name was Margaret Hookham. In 1934 she joined...

Dumba, Konstantin Theodor

(Encyclopedia)Dumba, Konstantin Theodor kônstäntēnˈ tāˈōdôr do͝omˈbä [key], 1856–1947, Austro-Hungarian diplomat. As ambassador (1913–15) to the United States, he was involved with Franz von Papen an...

Heinse, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Heinse, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm hīnˈsə [key], 1746–1803, German novelist. His principal novels, Ardinghello; or, An Artist's Rambles in Sicily (1787, tr. 1839) and Hildegard von Hohenthal (1795–96)...

Pfeffer, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Pfeffer, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm pfĕˈfər [key], 1845–1920, German plant physiologist. He was professor of botany successively at the universities of Bonn, Basel, Tübingen, and Leipzig (from 1887). W...

Carstens, Asmus Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Carstens, Asmus Jacob äsˈmo͝os yäˈkôp kärˈstəns [key], 1754–98, German historical painter and engraver, b. Schleswig. He studied in Copenhagen and in Italy. He was influenced by the work of...

serial music

(Encyclopedia)serial music, the body of compositions whose fundamental syntactical reference is a particular ordering (called series or row) of the twelve pitch classes—C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B—t...