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An Najaf

(Encyclopedia)An Najaf än näˈjäf [key], city (2020 pop. 874,000), S central Iraq, on a lake near the Euphrates River. The city, one of Shi'a Islam's holiest, is also called Mashad A...

Liston, Sonny

(Encyclopedia)Liston, Sonny (Charles Liston), 1932–71, American boxer, b. Little Rock, Ark. While serving a sentence for robbery at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston became interested in boxing. In 1953 he ...

Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan

(Encyclopedia)Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan äˈbo͞o äl-färajˈ älēˈ, ĕsfähänˈ [key], 897–967, Arabic scholar from Iran. He is mainly known for his invaluable Kitab al-Aghani (book of songs), which provid...

Day, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Day, Benjamin, 1838–1916, American printer; son of Benjamin Henry Day. While working in New York City, Day invented a process, utilizing celluloid sheets, for shading plates in the color printing of...

Badía y Leblich, Domingo

(Encyclopedia)Badía y Leblich, Domingo dōmēngˈgō bäᵺēˈä ē lāblēkˈ [key], 1766–1818, Spanish traveler, known as Ali Bey. Posing as a Muslim, he set out from Cádiz (1803) and traveled through N Afri...

Hasan

(Encyclopedia)Hasan häsänˈ [key], c.625–c.669; son of Ali and Fatima (daughter of Muhammad the Prophet). When Ali was killed in 661, Hasan became caliph, but he was not strong enough to withstand the threat of...

Spinks, Leon, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Spinks, Leon, Jr. 1953-2021, American boxer, b. St. Louis, Mo. Spinks began boxing at age 13, dropping out of high school in his junior year to join the...

Randolph, Thomas, English poet and dramatist

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Thomas, 1605–35, English poet and dramatist. After graduating from Cambridge in 1632, he went to London where he became a disciple of Ben Jonson. His best-known poems are “A Gratulatory ...

Shiites

(Encyclopedia)Shiites shēˈītz [key] [Arab., shiat Ali,=the party of Ali], the second largest branch of Islam, Shiites currently account for 10%–15% of all Muslims. Shiite Islam originated as a political moveme...

Mazar-i-Sharif

(Encyclopedia)Mazar-i-Sharif mäzärˈ-ē-shärēfˈ [key], city (1988 est. pop. 131,000), capital of Balkh prov., N Afghanistan, near the Uzbekistan border. It is held sacred as the alleged burial place of Ali, so...