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Lispector, Clarice

(Encyclopedia) Lispector, Clarice Lispector, Clarice klârˈĭs lēspĕkˈtər [key], 1920–77…

Dance Theatre of Harlem

(Encyclopedia) Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first…

Burnside, Ambrose Everett

(Encyclopedia) Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824–81, Union general in the U.S. Civil War, b. Liberty, Ind. He saw brief service in the Mexican War and remained in the army until 1853, when he entered…

Vanbrugh, Sir John

(Encyclopedia) Vanbrugh, Sir JohnVanbrugh, Sir Johnvănbr&oomacr;ˈ, vănˈbrə [key], 1664–1726, English dramatist, architect, soldier, and adventurer, b. London, of Flemish descent. In 1686 he…

Sayles, John

(Encyclopedia) Sayles, John (John Thomas Sayles), 1950–, one of America's most influential independent filmmakers as well as a screenwriter, fiction writer, playwright, and actor, b. Schenectady, N.Y…

Ophüls, Max

(Encyclopedia) Ophüls, MaxOphüls, Maxôˈfüls [key], 1902–57, German-born French film director, b. Saarbrücken as Maximilian Oppenheimer. He started his career in the 1920s as an stage actor and…

Pedro II

(Encyclopedia) Pedro II (Dom Pedro II de Alcântara), 1825–91, emperor of Brazil (1831–89). At the age of five, he succeeded under a regency when his father, Pedro I, abdicated. He was declared of age…

Valentine's Day History

Pagan festivals, Christian saints, Chaucer's love birds, and the Greeting Card Association of America Roman Roots The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various…

Brewer's: Judge's Black Cap

The judge puts on his black cap (now a three-cornered piece of black silk) when he condemns to death, in sign of mourning. This sign is very ancient. “Haman hasted to his house mourning,…

Brewer's: Covering the Face

No malefactor was allowed, in ancient Persia, to look upon a king. So, in Esther vii. 5, when Haman fell into disgrace, being seen on the queen's divan, “they instantly cover Haman's face…