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Priestley, J. B.

(Encyclopedia)Priestley, J. B. (John Boynton Priestley), 1894–1984, English author. An extraordinarily prolific writer, Priestley worked in a variety of genres. He first wrote literary criticism as a student at C...

Kelly, Gene

(Encyclopedia)Kelly, Gene, 1912–96, American dancer, choreographer, movie actor, and director, b. Pittsburgh as Eugene Curran Kelly. Kelly started dancing on Broadway in 1938 and first gained fame in the title ro...

Langmuir, Irving

(Encyclopedia)Langmuir, Irving lăngˈmyo͞or [key], 1881–1957, American chemist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Associated (1909–50) with the research laboratory of the General Electric Company, he introduced atomic-hydrog...

Imperial Valley

(Encyclopedia)Imperial Valley, fertile region in the Colorado Desert, SE Calif., extending S into NW Mexico. Once part of the Gulf of California, most of the region is below sea level; its lowest point is −232 ft...

Crater Lake National Park

(Encyclopedia)Crater Lake National Park, 183,224 acres (74,206 hectares), SW Oreg., in the Cascade Range; est. 1902. Crater Lake, 20 sq mi (52 sq km), lies in a huge pit that was created when the top of a prehistor...

harvest customs

(Encyclopedia)harvest customs, practices associated with the celebration of the gathering of agricultural crops. The gathering of the harvest—the climax of the year's labors wherever the soil is cultivated—has ...

quetzal

(Encyclopedia)quetzal kāsälˈ [key], common name for a magnificent bird of the family Trogonidae (trogon family), found in the rain forests from S Mexico to Costa Rica at altitudes of up to 9,000 ft (2,745 m). It...

liturgy, Islamic

(Encyclopedia)liturgy, Islamic, mandatory ritual prayer in Islam (salat) is performed five times a day at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night. It requires ritual cleanliness, and is preceded by ablutions. The ...

Masekela, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Masekela, Hugh măsˌəkĕlˈə [key], 1939–2018, South African singer, composer, band leader, and trumpet player. After working with several South African jazz bands, he and his then-wife Miriam Ma...

Kurokawa, Kisho Noriaki

(Encyclopedia)Kurokawa, Kisho Noriaki nôrēäˈkē kēˈshō ko͞orōˈkäwä [key], 1934–2007, Japanese architect, grad. Tokyo Univ. (Ph.D., 1964). The youngest founding member of the group of architects known ...