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kaleidoscope

(Encyclopedia)kaleidoscope kəlīˈdəskōp [key], optical instrument that uses mirrors to produce changing symmetrical patterns. Invented by the Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster in 1816, the device is usually...

Richard III

(Encyclopedia)Richard III, 1452–85, king of England (1483–85), younger brother of Edward IV. Created duke of Gloucester at Edward's coronation (1461), he served his brother faithfully during Edward's lifetime�...

Danaë

(Encyclopedia)Danaë dănˈāē [key], in Greek legend, daughter of Acrisius. When it was prophesied that Danaë's son would kill Acrisius, her father imprisoned her in a bronze tower. However, Zeus came to her in ...

Glace Bay

(Encyclopedia)Glace Bay glās [key], town, E Cape Breton Island, N.S., Canada. Exploitation of its coal min...

Henry VI, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VI, 1421–71, king of England (1422–61, 1470–71). Henry was a mild, honest, and pious man, a patron of literature and the arts and the founder of Eton College (1440). He was, however, u...

Lawrie, Lee

(Encyclopedia)Lawrie, Lee lōˈrē [key], 1877–1963, American sculptor, b. Germany. Brought to America as an infant, he studied with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Philip Martiny. Lawrie specialized in architectural ...

Ugolino della Gherardesca

(Encyclopedia)Ugolino della Gherardesca o͞ogōlēˈnō dĕlˈlä gārärdāˈskä [key], d. 1289, Italian nobleman. A leader of the Guelph, or pro-papal, faction in predominantly Ghibelline (pro-imperial) Pisa, he...

Dundee

(Encyclopedia)Dundee, city and council area, E central Scotland, on the Firth of Tay. It is a port and manufacturing city. Dundee is historically known for its manufa...

Overbury, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Overbury, Sir Thomas, 1581–1613, English author and courtier. He was a friend and adviser to Robert Carr, an Oxford acquaintance. The two quarreled violently when Overbury disapproved of Carr's marr...

Wigan

(Encyclopedia)Wigan wĭgˈən [key], metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 88,725), N England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Douglas River. Wigan has a wide variety of industries, including electrica...