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astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

le Carré, John

(Encyclopedia)le Carré, John lə kärāˈ [key], pseud. of David John Moore Cornwell, 1931–2020, English novelist. He was a tutor at Eton College (1956–58), and subsequently worked for the British foreign serv...

Boston Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson, who was its director and financial backer until 1918. The orchestra performed at the Old Boston Music Hall for nearly 20 years until ...

Rivera, Diego

(Encyclopedia)Rivera, Diego ᵺyāˈgō rēvāˈrä [key], 1886–1957, Mexican mural painter, studied as a youth with Posada and other Mexican painters; husband of Frida Kahlo. The native sculpture of Mexico deepl...

Murdoch, Dame Iris

(Encyclopedia)Murdoch, Dame Iris (Dame Jean Iris Murdoch) mûrˈdŏk [key], 1919–99, British novelist and philosopher, b. Dublin, Ireland, grad. Oxford (1942). In 1948 she was named lecturer in philosophy at Oxfo...

Hastert, Dennis

(Encyclopedia)Hastert, Dennis (John Dennis “Denny” Hastert) hăsˈtərt [key], 1942–, U.S. congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1999–2007), b. Aurora, Ill. He attended Wheaton College ...

Jersey City

(Encyclopedia)Jersey City, city (1990 pop. 228,537), seat of Hudson co., NE N.J., a port on a peninsula formed by the Hudson and Hackensack rivers and Upper New York Bay, opposite lower Manhattan; settled before 16...

cryptography

(Encyclopedia)cryptography krĭptŏgˈrəfē [key] [Gr.,=hidden writing], science of secret writing. There are many devices by which a message can be concealed from the casual reader, e.g., invisible writing, but t...

Quebec, city, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Quebec, Fr. Québec, city (1991 pop. 167,517), provincial capital, S Que., Canada, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers. The population is largely French speaking, and the town...

Cooper, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Cooper, Peter, 1791–1883, American inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist, b. New York City. After achieving success in the glue business, Cooper, with two partners, erected (1829) the Canton I...
 

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