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Jones, George Glenn

(Encyclopedia)Jones, George Glenn, 1931–2013, American country music singer and guitarist, b. Saratoga, Tex. Influenced by Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, he began recording in 1954; among his early hits were Why Ba...

rammed earth

(Encyclopedia)rammed earth, material consisting chiefly of soil of sufficiently stiff consistency that has been placed in forms and pounded down. It has been used for buildings and walls since ancient times and was...

Banda, Hastings Kamuzu

(Encyclopedia)Banda, Hastings Kamuzu kämo͞oˈzo͞o bänˈdə [key], 1902?–97, African political leader, president of Malawi (1966–94). A son of peasants, he received a medical degree in the United States and ...

Graves, Robert Ranke

(Encyclopedia)Graves, Robert Ranke, 1895–1985, English poet, novelist, and critic; son of Alfred Percival Graves. He established his reputation with Good-bye to All That (1929), an outspoken book on his war exper...

Josephine

(Encyclopedia)Josephine, 1763–1814, empress of the French (1804–9) as the consort of Napoleon I. Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in Martinique, she was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais...

Newcastle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of, 1693–1768, English politician, brother of Henry Pelham. He inherited (1711) the estates of his uncle, John Holles, duke of Newcastle, adopted his name, and ...

Maier, Vivian

(Encyclopedia)Maier, Vivian, 1926–2009, American photographer, b. Bronx, N.Y. She spent much of her childhood and early adulthood in France, where she began photographing street scenes; she moved in 1951 to New Y...

Endo, Shusaku

(Encyclopedia)Endo, Shusaku shəsäˈko͝o ĕnˈdō [key], 1923–1996, one of the finest 20th-century Japanese novelists, b. Tokyo. Baptized a Roman Catholic at 11, he is often compared to Graham Greene for his de...

Henry II, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Henry II, 1519–59, king of France (1547–59), son of King Francis I. His robust physique contrasted with his weak and pliant disposition. Throughout his reign he was governed by Anne de Montmorency...
 

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