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brasses, monumental

(Encyclopedia)brasses, monumental, or sepulchral brasses, memorials to the dead, in use in churches on the Continent and in England in the 13th cent. and for several centuries following. They are usually set in the...

Blair, Montgomery

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Montgomery, 1813–83, U.S. Postmaster General (1861–64), b. Franklin co., Ky., son of Francis P. Blair (1791–1876). He resigned from the army in 1836 after serving against the Seminole and...

X ray

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Typical X-ray composite spectrum (intensity as a function of frequency) X ray, invisible, highly penetrating electromagnetic radiation of much shorter wavelength (higher frequency) than visibl...

Long, Huey Pierce

(Encyclopedia)Long, Huey Pierce, 1893–1935, American political leader, b. Winnfield, La.; brother of Earl Long. Originally a farm boy, he was an extremely successful traveling salesman before studying law at Tula...

Federal Bureau of Investigation

(Encyclopedia)Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice charged with investigating all violations of federal laws except those assigned to some other federal agency. The FBI has j...

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

(Encyclopedia)United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), specialized agency of the United Nations, with headquarters in Paris. Its counterpart in the League of Nations was the Inter...

Waugh, Evelyn Arthur St. John

(Encyclopedia)Waugh, Evelyn Arthur St. John ēvˈlĭn, sĭnˈjən wô [key], 1903–66, English writer, considered the greatest satirist of his generation. Educated at Oxford, he was briefly an art student and a te...

Greenspan, Alan

(Encyclopedia)Greenspan, Alan, 1926–, American economist, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (1987–2006), b. New York City. Influenced by the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Greenspan is a strong supporter of the fr...

Synge, John Millington

(Encyclopedia)Synge, John Millington sĭng [key], 1871–1909, Irish poet and dramatist, b. near Dublin, of Protestant parents. He was an important figure in the Irish literary renaissance. As a young man he studie...

Tacitus, Roman historian

(Encyclopedia)Tacitus (Cornelius Tacitus), c.a.d. 55–c.a.d. 117, Roman historian. Little is known for certain of his life. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger and married the daughter of Agricola. In a.d. 97 he ...