Racine, Jean

Racine was born into a provincial family of minor administrators. His mother died 13 months after he was born, and his father died two years later. His paternal grandparents took him in, and when his grandmother, Marie des Moulins, became a widow, she brought Racine, then age nine, with her to the convent of Port-Royal des Champs near Paris. Since a group of devout scholars and

Medicine

It is generally the goal of most countries to have their health services organized in such a way to ensure that individuals, families, and communities obtain the maximum benefit from current knowledge and technology available for the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health. In order to play their part in this process, governments and other agencies are

Wryneck

Either of two species of birds that constitute the subfamily Jynginae of the woodpecker family (Picidae) but may be separated as the family Jyngidae. Wrynecks are gray-brown birds of open woods and brushlands, named for their habit of twisting their necks snakily when alarmed. They flick up ants from the ground or insects from trees with their long tongues, and they

Hythe

Town (“parish”), Shepway district, administrative and historic county of Kent, England, on the English Channel coast at the eastern end of Romney Marsh and on the Royal Military Canal. (The canal was built as a defensive moat when Napoleon threatened invasion of Britain.) The old town lies on the hillside inland from the canal, and the modern town, a seaside resort, lies between

Staircase

The origin of the staircase is uncertain. On the road up Tai Shan (mountain) in China there are many great flights of ancient granite steps; the earliest staircases seem to have been built with walls on both

Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke Of, Earl Of Euston, Viscount Ipswich, Baron Sudbury

He was provided for by a rich marriage in 1672 to Isabella, daughter and heiress of Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington,

Harcourt, Sir William

A lawyer from 1854, Harcourt briefly taught international law at the University of Cambridge. Entering the House of Commons in 1868, Harcourt served Prime

Fisher, Irving

Fisher was educated at Yale University (B.A., 1888; Ph.D., 1891), where he remained to teach mathematics (1892–95) and economics (1895–1935). In The Purchasing Power of Money (1911), he developed the modern concept

Liliidae, Phytochemistry

As might be expected from so large a group, Liliidae are very diverse in their flavonoids. These compounds have systematic importance only at the generic level. The unusual steroid saponins, however, characterize Liliidae to a remarkable degree, although they are absent from several groupings—notably Lilium and its close allies as well as several genera with alkaloids

Baccarat Glass

Glassware produced by an important glasshouse founded in 1765 at Baccarat, Fr. Originally a producer of soda glass for windows, tableware, and industrial uses, Baccarat was acquired by a Belgian manufacturer of lead crystal in 1817 and since then has specialized in producing this type of glass. In 1823 the firm won its first gold medal in an international exposition for glass, and