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Wain, John
(Encyclopedia)Wain, John, 1925–94, English novelist and critic, b. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, grad. Oxford (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1950). Originally lumped with England's angry young men after the publication of H...basketball
(Encyclopedia)basketball, game played generally indoors by two opposing teams of five players each. Basketball was conceived in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a physical education instructor at the YMCA college in Spr...Lucas, George W., Jr.
(Encyclopedia)Lucas, George W., Jr., 1944–, American film director, producer, and writer, b. Modesto, Calif. Although Lucas's first film, THX-1138 (1970), was not successful, his next two, American Graffiti (1973...DiMaggio, Joe
(Encyclopedia)DiMaggio, Joe (Joseph Paul DiMaggio) dĭmăjˈēōˌ, –mäjˈēōˌ [key], 1914–99, American baseball player, b. Martinez, Calif. One of the most charismatic of 20th-century sports figures, “Jol...Davies, Robertson
(Encyclopedia)Davies, Robertson (William Robertson Davies) dāˈvĭs [key], 1913–95, Canadian writer and editor. After receiving a B.Litt. from Oxford (1938), he joined the Old Vic Theatre Company before returnin...body-marking
(Encyclopedia)body-marking, painting, tattooing, or scarification (cutting or burning) of the body for ritual, esthetic, medicinal, magic, or religious purposes. Evidence from prehistoric burials, rock carvings, an...Thousand and One Nights
(Encyclopedia)Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights, series of anonymous stories in Arabic, considered as an entity to be among the classics of world literature. The cohesive plot device concerns the efforts of...Johnstown
(Encyclopedia)Johnstown. 1 City (1990 pop. 9,058), seat of Fulton co., E central N.Y.; founded 1772, inc. 1895. Its leather-glove industry dates back to 1800; other leather and knitted goods are also made. Johnson ...Harlem Renaissance
(Encyclopedia)Harlem Renaissance, term used to describe a flowering of African-American literature and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of New York City. During the mass migration of African American...fairy
(Encyclopedia)fairy, in folklore, one of a variety of supernatural beings endowed with the powers of magic and enchantment. Belief in fairies has existed from earliest times, and literatures all over the world have...Browse by Subject
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