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race

(Encyclopedia)race, one of the group of populations regarded as constituting humanity. The differences that have historically determined the classification into races are predominantly physical aspects of appearanc...

Nashe, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Nashe or Nash, Thomas both: năsh [key], 1567–1601, English satirist. Very little is known of his life. Although his first publications appeared in 1589, it was not until Pierce Penniless His Suppli...

Menzel, Donald Howard

(Encyclopedia)Menzel, Donald Howard, 1901–76, American astrophysicist, b. Florence, Colo. From 1926 to 1932 he was with the Lick Observatory in Calif. In 1932 he joined the faculty at Harvard, where he became pro...

Thoreau, Henry David

(Encyclopedia)Thoreau, Henry David thôrˈō, thərōˈ [key], 1817–62, American author, naturalist, social activist, and philosopher, b. Concord, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1837. Thoreau is considered one of the most...

Wittgenstein, Ludwig Josef Johann

(Encyclopedia)Wittgenstein, Ludwig Josef Johann loŏtˈvĭkh yōˈzĕf yōˈhän vĭtˈgənshtīn [key], 1889–1951, Austrian philosopher, b. Vienna. The second phase of Wittgenstein's philosophy commenced with ...

Scowcroft, Brent

(Encyclopedia)Scowcroft, Brent, 1925–2020, U.S. air force general and government official, b. Ogden, Utah, B.S. United States Military Academy, 1947, Ph.D. Columbia, 1967. From 1947 to 1975, he served in the U.S....

Martin, Luther

(Encyclopedia)Martin, Luther, c.1748–1826, American lawyer and political leader, b. New Brunswick, N.J. He practiced law in Maryland and became the first attorney general of the state, holding office from 1778 to...

Redmond, John Edward

(Encyclopedia)Redmond, John Edward, 1856–1918, Irish nationalist leader. He was elected to Parliament as a Home Rule member in 1881 at the height of the obstructionist program of Charles Parnell. When the Irish n...

ring, piece of jewelry

(Encyclopedia)ring, small ornamental hoop usually worn on finger or thumb, but it may be attached to the ear or the nose. Finger rings made of bronze, gold, and silver from the period c.2600–1500 b.c. have been f...

Schumann, Robert Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Schumann, Robert Alexander sho͞oˈmän [key], 1810–56, German composer. Both as a composer and as a highly articulate music critic he was a leader of the romantic movement. He studied theory with H...