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Le Sage, Alain René

(Encyclopedia)Le Sage, Alain René älăNˈ rənāˈ ləsäzhˈ [key], 1668–1747, French novelist and dramatist. His masterpiece, Gil Blas de Santillane (1715–35, tr. by Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Gil B...

Kern, Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Kern, Jerome kûrn [key], 1885–1945, American composer of musicals, b. New York City. After studying in New Jersey and New York he studied composition in Germany and England. His first success was t...

Giraudoux, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Giraudoux, Jean zhäN zhērōdo͞oˈ [key], 1882–1944, French novelist and dramatist. He was a prolific writer and combined his literary work with a long and successful diplomatic career. His early ...

Chalmers, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Chalmers, Thomas chäˈmərz, chôˈ– [key], 1780–1847, Scottish preacher, theologian, and philanthropist, leader of the Free Church of Scotland. His preaching and his interest in philanthropic wo...

Vittorino da Feltre

(Encyclopedia)Vittorino da Feltre vēt-tōrēˈnō dä fĕlˈtrā [key], 1378–1446, Italian humanist and teacher, b. Feltre. His real name was Vittorino Ramboldini. He studied at Padua and later taught there, but...

Stevens, George Cooper

(Encyclopedia)Stevens, George Cooper, 1904–75, American film director, b. Oakland, Calif. A distinguished 20th-century filmmaker, he is known for his skillful camera work and careful craftsmanship. After 1925 he ...

Werfel, Franz

(Encyclopedia)Werfel, Franz fränts vĕrˈfəl [key], 1890–1945, Austrian writer, b. Prague. He expressed his belief in the brotherhood of man in lyric verse, in expressionist and conventional plays, and in novel...

Rice, Anne

(Encyclopedia) Rice, Anne, 1941-2021, American novelist, b. New Orleans, La., as Howard Katherine O'Brien, San Francisco State Univ. (B.A., 1964; M.A., 1972). Rice wa...

O'Hara, John

(Encyclopedia)O'Hara, John, 1905–70, American novelist and short-story writer, b. Pottsville, Pa. He worked at a number of jobs and ultimately became a newspaperman before the appearance of his first novel, Appoi...

Anaximander

(Encyclopedia)Anaximander ənăkˌsĭmănˈdər [key], c.611–c.547 b.c., Greek philosopher, b. Miletus; pupil of Thales. He made the first attempt to offer a detailed explanation of all aspects of nature. Anaxima...