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Moore, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Moore, Thomas, 1779–1852, Irish poet, b. Dublin. He achieved prominence in his day not only for his poetry but also for his love of Ireland and personal charm. A lawyer, he was for a time registrar ...

Neuharth, Al

(Encyclopedia)Neuharth, Al (Allen Harold Neuharth), 1924–2013, American media executive, b. Eureka, S.Dak., grad. Univ. of South Dakota (1950). In 1954 he began working as a reporter for The Miami Herald, and by ...

nursery school

(Encyclopedia)nursery school, educational institution for children from two to four years of age. It is distinguishable from a day nursery in that it serves children of both working and nonworking parents, rarely r...

macular degeneration

(Encyclopedia)macular degeneration, eye disorder causing loss of central vision. The affected area, the macula, lies at the back of the retina and is the part that produces the sharpest vision. The most serious vis...

matrix

(Encyclopedia)matrix, in mathematics, a rectangular array of elements (e.g., numbers) considered as a single entity. A matrix is distinguished by the number of rows and columns it contains. The matrix CE5 is a 2...

Burns, Ken

(Encyclopedia)Burns, Ken (Kenneth Lauren Burns), 1953–, American documentary filmmaker, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Hampshire College (1975). Acting as producer, director, and cinematographer, Burns typically explor...

Benedict, Ruth Fulton

(Encyclopedia)Benedict, Ruth Fulton, 1887–1948, American anthropologist, b. New York City, grad. Vassar, 1909, Ph.D. Columbia, 1923. She was a student and later a colleague of Franz Boas at Columbia, where she ta...

tertiary

(Encyclopedia)tertiary tûrˈshēârē [key], in the Roman Catholic Church, member of a third order. The third orders are chiefly supplements of the friars—Franciscans (the most numerous), Dominicans, and Carmeli...

Ælfric

(Encyclopedia)Ælfric ălˈfrĭk [key], c.955–1020, English writer and Benedictine monk. He was the greatest English scholar during the revival of learning fostered by the Benedictine monasteries in the second ha...

Stephenson, George

(Encyclopedia)Stephenson, George, 1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery. He constructed (1814) a tr...