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Pynchon, John

(Encyclopedia)Pynchon, John pĭnˈchən [key], c.1626–1703, American colonist and merchant, b. England; son of William Pynchon. He emigrated to Massachusetts Bay colony with his father in 1630. When his father re...

Henderson, Fletcher

(Encyclopedia)Henderson, Fletcher (James Fletcher “Smack” Henderson), 1898–1952, American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist, b. Cuthbert, Ga. Henderson played piano from childhood. Short of funds after com...

Anson, George Anson, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Anson, George Anson, Baron, 1697–1762, British admiral. In his famous voyage (1740–44) around the world, Anson, in spite of shipwrecks and scurvy, inflicted great damage on Spanish shipping and re...

Moore, Marianne

(Encyclopedia)Moore, Marianne, 1887–1972, American poet, b. St. Louis, grad. Bryn Mawr College, 1909. She lived mostly in New York City, working first as a librarian and then as editor of the Dial magazine (1925�...

Garrick, David

(Encyclopedia)Garrick, David, 1717–79, English actor, manager, and dramatist. He was indisputably the greatest English actor of the 18th cent., and his friendships with Diderot, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, ...

nullification

(Encyclopedia)nullification, in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstituti...

Hohokam

(Encyclopedia)Hohokam hōˈhōkămˌ, hōhōˈkəm [key], term denoting the culture of the ancient agricultural populations inhabiting the Salt and Gila river valleys of S Arizona (a.d. 300–1200). They are noted ...

Bjerknes, Vilhelm Frimann Koren

(Encyclopedia)Bjerknes, Vilhelm Frimann Koren vĭlˈhĕlm frēˈmän kôˈrən byĕrkˈnĕs [key], 1862–1951, Norwegian physicist and pioneer in modern meteorology. He worked on applying hydrodynamic and thermody...

Ashendene Press

(Encyclopedia)Ashendene Press ăshˌəndēnˈ [key], founded in 1895 at Ashendene, Hertfordshire, England, by Sir C. H. St. John Hornby and moved in 1899 to Chelsea, London. It was a leader (with the Kelmscott Pres...

Remarque, Erich Maria

(Encyclopedia)Remarque, Erich Maria āˈrĭkh märēˈä rəmärkˈ [key], 1898–1970, German-American novelist, whose original name was Erich Paul Remark. From his experience of trench warfare during World War I,...