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Masefield, John

(Encyclopedia)Masefield, John mās– [key], 1878–1967, English poet. He went to sea as a youth and later spent several years in the United States. In 1897 he returned to England and was on the staff of the Manch...

Wallace, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir William, 1272?–1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the s...

Frayn, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Frayn, Michael, 1933–, English playwright and novelist, b. London. After graduating from Cambridge he worked as a reporter and columnist for the Manchester Guardian and the Observer. As a playwright...

Ingersoll, Robert Green

(Encyclopedia)Ingersoll, Robert Green, 1833–99, American orator and lawyer, b. Dresden, N.Y. The son of a Congregational minister who eventually settled in Illinois, Ingersoll was admitted (1854) to the bar and b...

schnauzer

(Encyclopedia)schnauzer shnouˈzər [key], a sturdy, wirehaired dog developed in S Germany. There are three separate breeds of schnauzer distinguished by their size. The standard schnauzer is a medium-sized dog who...

St.-John's-wort

(Encyclopedia)St.-John's-wort, any species of the large and widespread herbaceous or shrubby genus Hypericum of the family Hypericaceae (St.-John's-wort family), usually found in moist, open places and often having...

dice, in games and gambling

(Encyclopedia)dice [plural of die], small cubes used in games. They are usually made of ivory, bone, wood, plastic, or similar materials. The six sides are numbered by dots from 1 to 6, so placed that the sum of th...

Early Christian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Early Christian art and architecture, works of art exhibiting Christian themes and structures designed for Christian worship created relatively soon after the death of Jesus. Most date from the 4th to...

earth, in geology and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Cross section of the earth, showing its shells B. Detailed cross section of the crust and upper mantle: The lithosphere consists of the hard rock in the crust and upper mantle, lying above t...

Eden, rivers, England and Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Eden, name of several rivers in England and Scotland. The principal one rises in Cumbria, N England, and flows 65 mi (105 km) NW past Carlisle, into Solway Firth. The Vale of Eden is a rich farming re...