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Laski, John

(Encyclopedia)Laski, John yän lăsˈkē [key], Latin Johannes Alasco, 1499–1560, Polish Protestant reformer. A learned priest, he went in 1523 to Basel, where he was a close friend of Erasmus. After returning to...

Ochino, Bernardino

(Encyclopedia)Ochino, Bernardino bārnärdēˈnō ōkēˈnō [key], 1487–1564, Italian religious reformer. Ochino was a Capuchin friar, a popular preacher, and vicar general of the Capuchins in 1538 and 1541. Inf...

Gibbs, James

(Encyclopedia)Gibbs, James, 1682–1754, English architect, b. Scotland, studied in Rome under Carlo Fontana. Returning to England in 1709, he was appointed a member of the commission authorized to build 50 churche...

Ferrari, Gaudenzio

(Encyclopedia)Ferrari, Gaudenzio fār-räˈrē [key], c.1480–1546, Italian painter, one of the leading representatives of the Lombard school. He worked chiefly in the churches of Varallo (N Piedmont), Vercelli, ...

Wythe, George

(Encyclopedia)Wythe, George wĭth [key], 1726–1806, American lawyer, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Elizabeth City co., Va. Admitted to the bar in 1746, Wythe was a member (1754–55, 1758–68) an...

West, Mae

(Encyclopedia)West, Mae, 1893–1980, American stage and movie comedienne, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Mary Jane West. The unparalleled mistress of double entendre, West began in burlesque and continued in vaudeville, st...

Ward, Barbara Mary, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth

(Encyclopedia)Ward, Barbara Mary, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, 1914–81, British writer. Educated at the Sorbonne and at Oxford, she joined the staff of the Economist in 1939 and became foreign editor in 1940. F...

Erie Canal

(Encyclopedia)Erie Canal, artificial waterway, c.360 mi (580 km) long; connecting New York City with the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. Locks were built to overcome the 571-ft (174-m) difference between the leve...

Swinburne, Algernon Charles

(Encyclopedia)Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837–1909, English poet and critic. His poetry is noted for its vitality and for the music of its language. After attending Eton (1849–53) and Oxford (1856–60) he se...

Howard

(Encyclopedia)Howard, English noble family. Landowners in Norfolk from the 13th cent., the Howards obtained the duchy of Norfolk through the marriage of Sir Robert Howard to Margaret Mowbray, daughter of Thomas Mow...
 

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