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Whetstone, George

(Encyclopedia)Whetstone, George, 1551?–1587, English dramatist and poet. His chief work, the play Promos and Cassandra (1578), is important in the development of English domestic drama and was a source for Shakes...

Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset

(Encyclopedia)Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset, 1638–1706, English poet and courtier. After the restoration, he became a member of the intimate circle of young rakes and wits at the court of Charles II, wri...

dielectric

(Encyclopedia)dielectric dīˌĭlĕkˈtrĭk [key], material that does not conduct electricity readily, i.e., an insulator (see insulation). A good dielectric should also have other properties: It must resist breakd...

Waterford, county, Republic of Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Waterford wôˈtərfərd [key], county (1991 pop. 91,624), 710 sq mi (1,839 sq km), S Republic of Ireland. The county seat is the port town of Waterford. Although the terrain is largely hilly, there a...

Doab

(Encyclopedia)Doab dōˈăb [key], term applied in India to a tract of land between two converging rivers. The Doab, unqualified by the names of any rivers, designates the tract in Uttar Pradesh state between the G...

geometric problems of antiquity

(Encyclopedia)geometric problems of antiquity, three famous problems involving elementary geometric constructions with straight edge and compass, conjectured by the ancient Greeks to be impossible but not proved to...

Cape Town, City of

(Encyclopedia)Cape Town, City of, metropolitan municipality (2021 est. pop. 4,710,000), Western Cape prov., South Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Town is the ...

Giraldi, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Giraldi, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä jērälˈdē [key], 1504–73, Italian author, known also as Cinthio, Cintio, Cinzio, or Cyntius. He wrote tragedies, lyric verse, and tales. Som...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, 1652–1722, German princess, called the Princess Palatine and also known as Charlotte Elizabeth; wife of Philippe I d'Orléans, brother of King Louis XIV. She abjured ...