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Bodleian Library

(Encyclopedia)Bodleian Library bŏdˈlēən, bŏdlēˈən [key], at the Univ. of Oxford. The original library, destroyed in the reign of Edward VI, was replaced in 1602, chiefly through the efforts of Sir Thomas Bo...

Shrewsbury, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury bərē [key], city (1991 pop. 57,731), adminstrative center of Shropshire, W England, on the Severn River. Shrewsbury is a road and rail junction with varied manufactures. It was an ancient...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

filibuster

(Encyclopedia)filibuster, term used to designate obstructionist tactics in legislative assemblies. It has particular reference to the U.S. Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is very strong. It was not ...

Thomson, James , 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, James, 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist. He is remembered for his darkly pessimistic poem The City of Dreadful Night. He was raised in an orphan asylum and became (1851) an army teacher ...

echidna, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)echidna ĭkĭdˈnə [key] or spiny anteater, animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect its...

Eggleston, William

(Encyclopedia)Eggleston, William (William Joseph Eggleston, Jr.), 1939–, American photographer credited with establishing color photography as an art form, b. Memphis Tenn. His early work in black and white was i...

Snow, C. P.

(Encyclopedia)Snow, C. P. (Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of Leicester), 1905–80, English author and physicist. Snow had an active, varied career, including several important positions in the British government. ...

Reed, John

(Encyclopedia)Reed, John, 1887–1920, American journalist and radical leader, b. Portland, Oreg. After graduating from Harvard in 1910, he wrote articles for various publications and from 1913 was attached to the ...

Kazin, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Kazin, Alfred kāˈzĭn [key], 1915–98, American critic, b. New York City, grad. College of the City of New York (B.S., 1935) and Columbia (M.A., 1938). Kazin was one of the outstanding literary cri...