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golem

(Encyclopedia)golem gōˈləm [key] [Heb.,=an undeveloped lump], in medieval Jewish legend, an automatonlike servant made of clay and given life by means of a charm, or shem [Heb.,=name, or the name of God]. Golems...

Diogenes

(Encyclopedia)Diogenes dīŏjˈənēz [key], c.412–323 b.c., Greek Cynic philosopher; pupil of Antisthenes. He was born in Sinope and lived in Athens. He taught that the virtuous life is the simple life, and he d...

Durant, William James

(Encyclopedia)Durant, William James, 1885–1981, American historian and essayist, b. North Adams, Mass. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1917 and published his doctoral dissertation, Philosophy and the Socia...

Stradella, Alessandro

(Encyclopedia)Stradella, Alessandro älĕs-sänˈdrō strädĕlˈlä [key], 1642?–1682, Italian composer of operas, cantatas, oratorios, and instrumental music. Few facts but many legends exist concerning his lif...

Peto, John F.

(Encyclopedia)Peto, John F. pēˈtō [key], 1854–1907, American painter, b. Philadelphia. Largely self-taught, Peto worked in the exacting style of trompe l'oeil illusionism perfected by William Harnett. He sough...

polonium

(Encyclopedia)polonium pəlōˈnēəm [key], radioactive chemical element; symbol Po; at. no. 84; mass no. of most stable isotope 209; m.p. 254℃; b.p. 962℃; sp. gr. about 9.4; valence +2 or +4. Polonium is an e...

Oe, Kenzaburo

(Encyclopedia)Oe, Kenzaburo kĕnˌzäbo͝orˈō ōˈā [key], 1935–2023, Japanese writer, b. Ose,...

Moses, Grandma

(Encyclopedia)Moses, Grandma (Anna Mary Robertson Moses), 1860–1961, American painter, b. Washington co., N.Y., self-taught. She lived the arduous life of a farm wife, first in the Shenandoah Valley and later at ...

Sierra, Justo

(Encyclopedia)Sierra, Justo ho͞oˈstō syĕˈrä [key], 1848–1912, Mexican educator and historian. He entered the literary life as a romantic poet but later devoted himself wholeheartedly to founding schools, le...

Corelli, Arcangelo

(Encyclopedia)Corelli, Arcangelo ärkänˈjālō kōrĕlˈlē [key], 1653–1713, Italian composer and violinist. Famed for his virtuosity and his elegant style of composition, he spent most of his life in Rome, wh...