Gryphaea

Extinct molluskan genus found as fossils in rocks from the Jurassic period to the Eocene epoch (between 208 million and 36.6 million years ago). Related to the oysters, Gryphaea is characterized by its distinctively convoluted shape. The left valve, or shell, was much larger and more convoluted than the flattish right valve. Fine markings extended across the shell

D�hlie, Bj�

Norwegian cross-country skiing legend Bj�rn D�hlie rocketed into the record books in 1998 by shattering the previous marks for gold medals and total medals won by an individual in Winter Olympics competition. With victories at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, in the 10-km race, 50-km race, and 4 �10-km relay, he established himself as one of the greatest Nordic skiers of all time. "The Rocketman,"

Zadkine, Ossip

As a boy, Zadkine, son of a professor of Greek and Latin, much preferred clay modeling to his studies.

Costa, L�

After graduating from the National School of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro, in 1924, Costa entered into a partnership with Gregori Warchavchick, a Russian-born architect and early advocate of modern architecture in

Jacobs, W(illiam) W(ymark)

His early home was a house on a Thames River wharf, where his father was manager. A landsman himself, Jacobs drew on his boyhood memories of seafaring men and dockworkers to create the stories that were to establish him as a writer. His first volume, Many

Greek Mythology, Myths of heroes

Hero myths included elements from tradition, folktale, and fiction. The saga of the Argonauts, for example, is highly complex and includes elements from folktale and fiction, but the information that the fleet mustered at Colchis may be regarded as genuine legend. Episodes in the Trojan cycle, such as the departure of the Greek fleet from Aulis or Theseus' Cretan expedition

Half Rhyme

Also called �near rhyme, �slant rhyme, �or �oblique rhyme� in prosody, two words that have only their final consonant sounds and no preceding vowel or consonant sounds in common (such as stopped and wept, or parable and shell). The device was common in Welsh, Irish, and Icelandic verse years before it was first used in English by Henry Vaughan. It was not used regularly in English until Gerard Manley Hopkins and William Butler

Albany River

River, north central Ontario, Canada, rising in Lake St. Joseph at an elevation of 1,218 ft (371 m) and flowing generally eastward into James Bay. For 250 mi (400 km) of its 610-mi course, the river is navigable, and it served as an important route during the fur-trading days, when boats sailed inland from the Hudson's Bay Company post of Ft. Albany (established 1684) at the mouth. Its largest tributary is the

Louis, Victor

After at least seven unsuccessful attempts, Louis won the Prix de Rome in 1755. While in Rome (1756 - 59), he offended the director of the Academy there, Charles Joseph Natoire, and this social misstep resulted in his subsequent exclusion from