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lycanthropy

(Encyclopedia)lycanthropy līkănˈthrəpē [key], in folklore, assumption by a human of the appearance and characteristics of an animal. Ancient belief in lycanthropy was widespread, and it still exists in parts o...

Turing test

(Encyclopedia)Turing test, a procedure to test whether a computer is capable of humanlike thought. As proposed (1950) by the British mathematician Alan Turing, a person (the interrogator) sits with a teletype machi...

incarnation

(Encyclopedia)incarnation, the assumption of human form by a god, an idea common in religion. In early times the idea was expressed in the belief that certain living men, often kings or priests, were divine incarna...

Thurmond, Strom

(Encyclopedia)Thurmond, Strom (James Strom Thurmond) thûrˈmənd [key], 1902–2003, U.S. senator from South Carolina (1954–2003), b. Edgefield, S.C. He read law while teaching school (1923–29) and was admitte...

Otis, James

(Encyclopedia)Otis, James, 1725–83, American colonial political leader, b. Barnstable co., Mass. A lawyer first in Plymouth and then in Boston, he won great distinction and served (1756–61) as advocate general ...

Gossen, Hermann Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Gossen, Hermann Heinrich hĕrˈmän hīnˈrĭkh gôˈsən [key], 1810–58, German economist, little known in his lifetime. His work, Entwicklung der Gesetze des menschlichen Verkehrs und der daraus f...

Douglas, William Orville

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, William Orville, 1898–1980, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1939–75), b. Maine, Minn. He received his law degree from Columbia in 1925 and later was professo...

Jim Crow laws

(Encyclopedia)Jim Crow laws, in U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. The name is believed to be derived...

Kinsey, Alfred Charles

(Encyclopedia)Kinsey, Alfred Charles kĭnˈzē [key], 1894–1956, American biologist, b. Hoboken, N.J., grad. Bowdoin College (B.S., 1916), Harvard (D.Sc., 1920). He was associated with the Univ. of Indiana from 1...

Miller, Marvin Julian

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Marvin Julian, 1917–2012, U.S. economist and labor leader, b. Bronx, N.Y., grad. New York Univ. (1938). He worked at the National War Labor Board during World War II, and later at the Intern...