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still life

(Encyclopedia)still life, a pictorial representation of inanimate objects. The term derives from the 17th-century Dutch still-leven, meaning a motionless natural object or objects. In East Asia still-life subj...

life preserver

(Encyclopedia)life preserver, a personal flotation device (PFD) intended to keep the wearer afloat, particularly in case of shipwreck. A Type I PFD will keep even unconscious people afloat in a face–up position; ...

half-life

(Encyclopedia)half-life, measure of the average lifetime of a radioactive substance (see radioactivity) or an unstable subatomic particle. One half-life is the time required for one half of any given quantity of th...

Sand, George

(Encyclopedia)Sand, George ämäNdēnˈ ôrôrˈ lüsēˈ düpăN, bärônˈ düdväNˈ [key], 1804–76, French novelist. Other variant forms of her maiden name include Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin. Born of an ari...

Crabbe, George

(Encyclopedia)Crabbe, George, 1754–1832, English poet, b. Aldeburgh, Suffolk. After practicing medicine for a short time, he went to London in 1780, hoping to earn money by his writing. He was befriended by Edmun...

Peabody, George Foster

(Encyclopedia)Peabody, George Foster pēˈbädē [key], 1852–1938, American banker and philanthropist, b. Columbus, Ga. Successful early in life as a banker and organizer of railroads and utility companies, he re...

Peele, George

(Encyclopedia)Peele, George, 1558?–1597?, English playwright, educated at Oxford. He experimented in a variety of forms, including the pageant, history, pastoral, comedy, and melodrama, but his best-known work is...

Keith, George, Scottish Jacobite

(Encyclopedia)Keith, George, 1693?–1778, Scottish Jacobite, 10th earl marischal [marshal] of Scotland. He took part in the Jacobite uprising of 1715 and after its failure escaped to the Continent. A leader of the...

Kelly, George

(Encyclopedia)Kelly, George, 1887–1974, American playwright, b. Philadelphia. He began his career as a vaudevillian, as both an actor and skit writer. His best-known plays, penetrating satires on American middle-...
 

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