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Wayne, John
(Encyclopedia)Wayne, John, 1907–79, American movie actor, b. Winterset, Iowa, as Marion Michael Morrison. An enduringly popular movie star from his debut in 1930, Wayne combined the toughness necessary to play we...benzoin
(Encyclopedia)benzoin bĕnzoinˈəm [key], balsamic resin, the dried exudation from the pierced bark of various species of the benzoin tree (Styrax) native to Sumatra, Java, and Thailand; appearing as red-brown to ...tongue
(Encyclopedia)tongue, muscular organ occupying the floor of the mouth in vertebrates. In some animals, such as lizards, anteaters, and frogs, it serves a food-gathering function. In humans, the tongue functions pri...Walpole, Sir Hugh Seymour
(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Sir Hugh Seymour, 1884–1941, English novelist, b. New Zealand, educated at Cambridge. His first two novels were failures, but with Fortitude (1913) he achieved financial and literary succes...Aden, Gulf of
(Encyclopedia)Aden, Gulf of äˈdən, āˈ– [key], western arm of the Arabian Sea, 550 mi (885 km) long, lying between Yemen and Somalia; connected with the Red Sea by the Bab el Mandeb. The gulf is on the great ...Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in
(Encyclopedia)Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in tsouˈ shyĕˈchĭnˈ [key], 1715–63, Chinese novelist. He is the author of Story of the Stone (or A Dream of Red Mansions), which is considered China's greatest novel. After his ...Tukhachevsky, Mikhail Nikolayevich
(Encyclopedia)Tukhachevsky or Toukhachevski, Mikhail Nikolayevich both: mēkhəyēlˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch to͞okhəchĕfˈskē [key], 1893–1937, Soviet marshal. An officer in the czarist army from 1914, he joined...trogon
(Encyclopedia)trogon trōˈgŏn [key], family of tropical jungle birds related to the roadrunners and including the quetzal. Trogons are sedentary arboreal birds, 10 to 14 in. (25.4–35.6 cm) long, with short roun...Swammerdam, Jan
(Encyclopedia)Swammerdam, Jan yän väˈmərdäm [key], 1637–80, Dutch naturalist. He was a pioneer in the use of the microscope. Before he turned to religious contemplation his chief interest was the study of in...rainbow
(Encyclopedia)rainbow, arc showing the colors of the spectrum, violet inside and red outside, which appears when the sun shines through water droplets. It often appears while the sun is shining after a brief thunde...Browse by Subject
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