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Reyer, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Reyer, Ernest ĕrnĕstˈ rāyĕrˈ [key], 1823–1909, French composer and critic, whose name originally was Louis Étienne Ernest Rey. Largely self-taught, he was strongly influenced by Berlioz, whom...

Thompson, David

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, David, 1770–1857, Canadian geographer, fur trader, and explorer, b. London, England. In 1784 he came to Fort Churchill, Canada, as an apprentice of the Hudson's Bay Company, and until 1797...

tuna

(Encyclopedia)tuna or tunny, game and food fishes, the largest members of the family Scombridae (mackerel family) and closely related to the albacore and bonito. They have streamlined bodies with two fins, and five...

pigeon

(Encyclopedia)pigeon, common name for members of the large family Columbidae, land birds, cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions, characterized by stout bodies, short necks, small heads, and thick, heavy pl...

mountain climbing

(Encyclopedia)mountain climbing, the practice of climbing to elevated points for sport, pleasure, or research. Also called mountaineering, it is practiced throughout the world. Many mountain climbing clubs have...

jazz

(Encyclopedia)jazz, the most significant form of musical expression of African-American culture and arguably the most outstanding contribution the United States has made to the art of music. ...

Gesta Romanorum

(Encyclopedia)Gesta Romanorum jĕsˈtə rōˌmənôrˈəm [key], medieval collection of Latin stories. Although the title means “Deeds of the Romans,” the tales have very little to do with actual Roman history....

Guareschi, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Guareschi, Giovanni jōväˈnē gwärĕsˈkē [key], 1908–68, Italian journalist and novelist. Guareschi edited a humorous weekly before World War II and in 1945 helped to found the popular weekly C...

Heliodorus of Emesa

(Encyclopedia)Heliodorus of Emesa ĕmˈəsə [key], fl. 3d cent., Syrian Greek writer. He wrote the romance Aethiopica, one of the oldest and best of surviving Greek romances. Little is known of his life except tha...

Housman, Laurence

(Encyclopedia)Housman, Laurence, 1865–1959, English author; brother of A. E. Housman. He achieved success as the anonymous author of An Englishwoman's Love Letters (1900). Best known as a dramatist, he wrote Litt...
 

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