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Schwitters, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Schwitters, Kurt ko͝ort shvĭtˈərs [key], 1887–1948, German artist, b. Hannover. Influenced by Kandinsky, by Picasso's reliefs, and by Dada constructions, he invented Merz [trash] constructions�...

Tucholsky, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Tucholsky, Kurt ko͝ort to͞okhôlˈskē [key], 1890–1935, German political satirist and journalist. Ranging over a wide variety of subjects and styles, Tucholsky's pacifist, antifascist writing mar...

Waldheim, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Waldheim, Kurt ko͝ort vältˈhīm [key], 1918–2007, Austrian diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations (1972–81) and president of Austria (1986–92). He entered diplomatic service after ...

Wüthrich, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Wüthrich, Kurt, 1938–, Swiss chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Basel, 1964. Wüthrich has been on the faculty at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology since 1969 and at the Scripps Research Institute, La...

Weill, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Weill, Kurt ko͝ortˈ vīl [key], 1900–1950, German-American composer, b. Dessau, studied with Humperdinck and Busoni in Berlin. He first became known with the production of two short satirical surr...

Pynchon, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pynchon, Thomas pĭnˈchən [key], 1937–, American novelist, b. Glen Cove, N.Y., grad. Cornell, 1958. Pynchon is noted for his amazingly fertile imagination, his wild sense of humor, and the teeming...

Morgenthau, Henry, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., 1891–1967, American cabinet officer, b. New York City; son of Henry Morgenthau. He became interested in agriculture and bought a farm in Dutchess co., N.Y., where he became a...

Mayweather, Floyd, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Mayweather, Floyd, Jr., 1977–, American boxer, b. Grand Rapids, Mich., as Floyd Joy Sinclair. He began boxing at an early age, coached by his father, a welterweight boxer whose name he subsequently ...

Hiller, Stanley, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Hiller, Stanley, Jr., 1924–2006, American aeronautical engineer and business executive, b. San Francisco. At 12 years old, he designed and produced gas-propelled toy cars, a business that led to the...

Hitchcock, Thomas, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Hitchcock, Thomas, Jr., 1900–1944, American polo player and aviator, b. Aiken, S.C. The son of avid polo players, Tommy Hitchcock played in his first tournament at the age of 13. Hitchcock's polo pl...