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Hebbel, Christian Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Hebbel, Christian Friedrich krĭsˈtyän frēˈdrĭkh hĕbˈəl [key], 1813–63, German tragic dramatist. Born poor, he was largely self-educated. Hegel's historical theories influenced his work, whi...

banjo

(Encyclopedia)banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine string...

Skram, Amalie

(Encyclopedia)Skram, Amalie ämäˈlēə skräm [key], 1846–1905, Norwegian writer. In Denmark, where she lived most of her life, Skram wrote Constance Ring (1885, tr. 1988), her first major novel and the first v...

pelvis

(Encyclopedia)pelvis, bony, basin-shaped structure that supports the organs of the lower abdomen. It receives the weight of the upper body and distributes it to the legs; it also forms the base for numerous muscle ...

Bayreuth Festival

(Encyclopedia)Bayreuth Festival, also called the Richard Wagner Festival, annual season of performances of Wagner's works, held in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth. Around 1851, Wagner began to visualize a festival th...

Encke, Johann Franz

(Encyclopedia)Encke, Johann Franz yōˈhän fränts ĕngˈkə [key], 1791–1865, German astronomer. He was assistant (1816–22) and director (1822–25) of the observatory at Seeberg (near Gotha) and director (fr...

stirrup

(Encyclopedia)stirrup, foot support for the rider of a horse in mounting and while riding. It is a ring with a horizontal bar to receive the foot and is attached by a strap to the saddle. To avoid the danger of hav...

Uranus , in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Uranus yo͝orāˈnəs, yo͝orˈə– [key], in astronomy, 7th planet from the sun, at a mean distance of 1.78 billion mi (2.87 billion km), with an orbit lying between those of Saturn and Neptune; its...

Monera

(Encyclopedia)Monera, taxonomic kingdom that comprises the prokaryotes (bacteria and cyanobacteria). Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and usually lack membrane-bound organe...

Mauldin, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Mauldin, Bill (William Henry Mauldin), 1921–2003, American cartoonist, b. Mountain Park, N.Mex. During World War II, in which he served as an infantryman-cartoonist in Italy, France, and Germany, Ma...
 

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