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Humphrey, Doris

(Encyclopedia)Humphrey, Doris, 1895–1958, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Oak Park, Ill. Humphrey was a featured soloist with the Denishawn Company (see St. Denis, Ruth; Shawn, Ted) until 1927. She t...

Jacqueline

(Encyclopedia)Jacqueline, 1401–36, countess of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland (1417–33). The daughter and heiress of William IV, duke of Bavaria and count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, and of Margaret of Bur...

Childress, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Childress, Alice, 1920–94, American playwright and novelist, b. Charleston, S.C. She moved (1925) to New York City and was raised in Harlem. Childress joined the American Negro Theatre in 1941, and ...

Amadeus VIII

(Encyclopedia)Amadeus VIII ămədēˈəs [key], 1383–1451, count (1391–1416) and duke (from 1416) of Savoy, antipope (1439–49) with the name Felix V. In 1434 he appointed his son regent of Savoy and retired t...

Piccirilli

(Encyclopedia)Piccirilli pēˌchērēlˈlē [key], family of Italian-American marble cutters and sculptors. In 1888, the father and six sons, all sculptors, migrated from Italy and established a highly successful w...

psycholinguistics

(Encyclopedia)psycholinguistics, the study of psychological states and mental activity associated with the use of language. An important focus of psycholinguistics is the largely unconscious application of grammati...

Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier

(Encyclopedia)Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier bo͞oˈvē-āˌ, bo͞ovyāˈ [key], 1929–94, b. Southampton, N.Y. Of a socially prominent family, she worked (1951–53) as a journalist and photographer before marrying ...

Witherspoon, John

(Encyclopedia)Witherspoon, John, 1723–94, Scottish-American Presbyterian clergyman, political leader in the American Revolution, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Haddingtonshire (now East Lothian...

Wolff, Christian von

(Encyclopedia)Wolff or Wolf, Christian von krĭsˈtyän fən vôlf [key], 1679–1754, German philosopher. One of the first to use the German language instead of Latin, he systematized and popularized the doctrines...

Calixtus III

(Encyclopedia)Calixtus III, Callixtus III, or Callistus III, 1378–1458, pope (1455–58), a Spaniard (b. Játiva) named Alonso de Borja or, in Italian, Alfonso Borgia; successor of Nicholas V. He acted as arbitr...