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Van Druten, John William

(Encyclopedia) Van Druten, John WilliamVan Druten, John Williamvăn dr&oomacr;ˈtən [key], 1901–57, English dramatist. His best-known plays, primarily light comedies, include Old Acquaintance (1940…

Banks, Thomas

(Encyclopedia) Banks, Thomas, 1735–1805, English neoclassical sculptor, studied at the Royal Academy. A traveling scholarship enabled him to study in Rome from 1772 to 1779. In 1781 he went to Russia…

decibel

(Encyclopedia) decibeldecibeldĕsˈəbĕlˌ, –bəl [key], abbr. dB, unit used to measure the loudness of sound. It is one tenth of a bel (named for A. G. Bell), but the larger unit is rarely used. The…

Chu, Steven

(Encyclopedia) Chu, Steven, 1948–, U.S. physicist and government official, b. St. Louis, Mo., grad. Univ. of Rochester (B.S., A.B. 1970), Univ. of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1976). He worked from…

James, Saint (the “brother” of Jesus)

(Encyclopedia) James, Saint, in the Bible, the “brother” of Jesus. The Gospels make several references to the brothers of Jesus, and St. Paul speaks of “James the Lord's brother.” While Protestants…

Woods, Granville Taylor

(Encyclopedia) Woods, Granville Taylor,, 1856–1910, African-American inventor, b. Columbus, Ohio. He worked in a railroad shop as a youth, becoming a machinist and blacksmith. He subsequently worked…

Vashti

(Encyclopedia) VashtiVashtivăshˈtī [key], in the Bible, queen whom Ahasuerus deposed for disobedience.

Starr, Belle

(Encyclopedia) Starr, Belle, 1848?–89, American outlaw, b. near Carthage, Mo. Her original name was Myra Belle (or Maybelle) Shirley. Her family members were Confederate sympathizers, and her father…

hydrofoil

(Encyclopedia) hydrofoil, flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft, that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface. The term is often extended to…

tower

(Encyclopedia) tower, structure, the greatest dimension of which is its height. Towers have belonged to two general types. The first embodies practical uses such as defense (characteristic of the…