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Apollonius Rhodius

(Encyclopedia)Apollonius Rhodius rōˈdēəs [key], fl. 3d cent. b.c., epic poet of Alexandria and Rhodes. He became librarian at Alexandria. His extant work, the Argonautica, is a Homeric imitation in four books o...

Guy of Warwick

(Encyclopedia)Guy of Warwick wŏrˈĭk [key], English legendary hero, popularized by an anonymous 14th-century rhymed romance. Guy won the earl of Warwick's daughter and saved England from the Danes by killing the ...

John Henry

(Encyclopedia)John Henry, legendary African American famous for his strength, celebrated in ballads and tales. In the most popular version of the story, John Henry tries to outwork a steam drill with only his hamme...

Spyri, Johanna

(Encyclopedia)Spyri, Johanna yōhänˈä shpēˈrē [key], 1827–1901, Swiss author. Her many stories of child life in Switzerland include Heidi (1880; tr. 1884), a classic among children's books. Heidi, the story...

Phillips Exeter Academy

(Encyclopedia)Phillips Exeter Academy ĕkˈsətər [key], at Exeter, N.H.; coeducational; chartered 1781, opened 1783 by John Phillips. It has been an influential preparatory school and has a notable school library...

hyrax

(Encyclopedia)hyrax hīˈrăks [key], name for rabbit-sized mammals of Africa and SW Asia comprising the family Procavidae. Although rodentlike in appearance, hyraxes are hoofed mammals, or ungulates (see Chordata)...

Dreiser, Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Dreiser, Theodore drīˈsər, –zər [key], 1871–1945, American novelist, b. Terre Haute, Ind. A pioneer of naturalism in American literature, Dreiser wrote novels reflecting his mechanistic view o...

Leonard, William Ellery

(Encyclopedia)Leonard, William Ellery, 1876–1944, American poet, b. Plainfield, N.J., grad. Boston Univ., 1899, Ph.D. Columbia, 1904. For many years he was professor of English at the Univ. of Wisconsin. Of his n...

Larreta, Enrique Rodríguez

(Encyclopedia)Larreta, Enrique Rodríguez ānrēˈkā rôᵺrēˈgāth lärrāˈtä [key], 1875–1961, Argentine novelist. Larreta lived for many years in Spain and France. His fame rests on La gloria de don Ramir...

Ross, Betsy

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Betsy, 1752–1836, American seamstress, b. Philadelphia. Her full name was Elizabeth Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole. She is known to have made flags during the American Revolution, although the...