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West, Mae

(Encyclopedia)West, Mae, 1893–1980, American stage and movie comedienne, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Mary Jane West. The unparalleled mistress of double entendre, West began in burlesque and continued in vaudeville, st...

Lang Lang

(Encyclopedia)Lang Lang, 1982–, Chinese virtuoso pianist. A child prodigy, he studied at the Central Music Conservatory, Beijing, and the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia. Noted for the romantic, emotive nature of ...

Moore, Mary Tyler

(Encyclopedia)Moore, Mary Tyler, 1936–2017, American actress, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Although she began her career as a dancer, Moore's success blossomed with her roles on television, first in small parts on various s...

abrasive

(Encyclopedia)abrasive, material used to grind, smooth, cut, or polish another substance. Natural abrasives include sand, pumice, corundum, and ground quartz. Carborundum (silicon carbide) and alumina (aluminum oxi...

Carver, George Washington

(Encyclopedia)Carver, George Washington, 1864?–1943, American agricultural chemist, b. Diamond, Mo., grad. Iowa State College (now Iowa State Univ.; B.S., 1894; M.A. 1896). Born a slave, he later, as a free man, ...

Mogae, Festus Gontebanye

(Encyclopedia)Mogae, Festus Gontebanye 1939–, Botswanan political leader, president of Botswana (1998–2008), b. Serowe. After studying economics at Sussex and Oxford universities, he returned to Botswana, where...

Almquist, Carl Jonas Love

(Encyclopedia)Almquist, Carl Jonas Love kärl yo͞oˈnäs lo͞oˈvə älmˈkvĭst [key], 1793–1866, Swedish writer. He was one of the few Swedish authors developing the novel in the period 1830–50. At first a s...

Carthage, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Carthage. <1> City (2020 pop. 15,522), seat of Jasper co., SW Mo., on the Spring River; inc. 1873. Its gray marble quarries are the largest of ...

Maputo Bay

(Encyclopedia)Maputo Bay, formerly Delagoa Bay dĕlˌəgōˈə [key], inlet of the Indian Ocean, c.55 mi (90 km) long and 20 mi (30 km) wide, S Mozambique, SE Africa; Maputo, the capital and chief port of Mozambiqu...

Desai, Anita

(Encyclopedia)Desai, Anita dĕsīˈ [key], 1937–, Indian fiction writer, b. Mussoorie as Anita Mazumdar, grad. Delhi Univ. (B.A., 1957). A prolific novelist, she often paints a subtly intelligent and darkly evoca...