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Nekrasov, Nikolai Alekseyevich

(Encyclopedia)Nekrasov, Nikolai Alekseyevich nyĭkəlīˈ əlyĭksyāˈyəvĭch nyĭkräˈsəf [key], 1821–78, Russian poet, editor, and publisher. Nekrasov began writing poetry when he was seven. Disowned by his...

Krasznahorkai, Lázló

(Encyclopedia)Krasznahorkai, Lázló, 1954–, Hungarian writer known for his strange, bleak, obsessive, and surreal novels, short stories, and film scripts. Usually marked by grim rural settings, and often featuri...

Shula, Don

(Encyclopedia)Shula, Don (Donald Francis Shula) sho͞oˈlə [key], 1930–2020, American football coach, b. Grand River, Ohio. A player at John Carroll Univ. and from 1951 to 1957 with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimo...

chorus, in Greek drama

(Encyclopedia)chorus, in the drama of ancient Greece. Originally the chorus seems to have arisen from the singing of the dithyramb, and the dithyrambic chorus allegedly became a true dramatic chorus when Thespis in...

Graf, Steffi

(Encyclopedia)Graf, Steffi gräf, grăf [key], 1969–, German tennis player. A powerful baseliner, she drew international attention by winning the 1984 Olympic demonstration event. Graf won her first major title, ...

Dinesen, Isak

(Encyclopedia)Dinesen, Isak ēˈsäk dēˈnəsən [key], pseud. of Baroness Karen Blixen, 1885–1962, Danish author, who wrote primarily in English. In 1914 she married Baron Blixen and went to live in British Eas...

Ferdinand VI, king of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand VI, b. 1712 or 1713, d. 1759, king of Spain (1746–59), son of Philip V by his first queen, Marie Louise of Savoy. When Ferdinand succeeded his father, his stepmother, Elizabeth Farnese, lo...

Parks, Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Parks, Gordon (Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks), 1912–2006, African-American photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer, b. Fort Scott, Kans. Parks purchased his first camera in 1938 and be...

Huygens, Constantijn

(Encyclopedia)Huygens, Constantijn hoiˈgəns [key], 1596–1687, Dutch humanist and poet, b. The Hague; father of Christiaan Huygens. He was broadly educated in languages, law, and social protocol to follow a pub...

jay

(Encyclopedia)jay, common name for a number of birds of the family Corvidae (crows and jays), found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The best-known representatives in America are the blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata...