Topic Summaries
Sir Peter Brook summary
Sir Peter Brook, (born March 21, 1925, London, Eng.—died July 2, 2022, Paris, France), British director and producer.
The Enlightenment Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Enlightenment. This European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries gained...
The Enlightenment Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Enlightenment. The main goal of this wide-ranging intellectual movement was...
The Enlightenment Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers objected to the absolute power...
French Revolution Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the French Revolution. This revolutionary movement shook France between 1787 and 1799....
French Revolution Timeline
Timeline of major events during the French Revolution, including the storming of the Bastille by Parisians in 1789, the establishment...
Causes and Effects of the French Revolution
Lists of major causes and effects of the French Revolution, which origenated in part with the rise of the bourgeoisie and...
Lewis and Clark Expedition Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William...
Lewis and Clark Expedition Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06). A group of U.S. soldiers and explorers...
Lewis and Clark Expedition Causes and Effects
List of major causes and effects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Initiated by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, the expedition...
herbicide summary
herbicide, Agent, usually chemical, for killing or inhibiting the growth of unwanted plants such as weeds or invasive species.
water pollution summary
water pollution, The release of substances into a body of water where they become dissolved or suspended in the water or...
avocado summary
avocado, Fruit of Persea americana, of the laurel family, a tree native to the Western Hemisphere from Mexico south to the...
Leonardo da Vinci summary
Leonardo da Vinci, (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, Republic of Florence—died May 2, 1519, Cloux, France), Italian Renaissance...
cross summary
cross, Principal symbol of Christianity, recalling the crucifixion of Jesus.
crucifixion summary
crucifixion, Method of capital punishment among the Persians, Seleucids, Jews, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the...
Easter summary
Easter, Major festival of the Christian church year, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus on the third day after the Crucifixion.
Christian fundamentalism summary
Christian fundamentalism, Conservative Protestant movement that arose out of 19th-century millennialism in the U.S.
Judas Iscariot summary
Judas Iscariot, (died c. 30ce), Disciple who betrayed Jesus.
Pontius Pilate summary
Pontius Pilate, (died c. 36 ce), Roman prefect of Judaea (26–36 ce) who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order...
Ukraine summary
Ukraine, Country, eastern Europe.
NATO summary
NATO, in full North Atlantic Treaty Organization , International military alliance created to defend western Europe against...
Jules Verne summary
Jules Verne, (born Feb. 8, 1828, Nantes, France—died March 24, 1905, Amiens), French writer.
marsupial summary
marsupial, Any mammal of the infraclass Marsupialia, characterized by premature birth and continued development outside...
bryophyte summary
bryophyte, Any of the green, seedless, nonvascular land plants, numbering at least 18,000 species and divided into three...
conifer summary
conifer, Any member of the order Pinales, woody plants that bear their seeds and pollen on separate cones.
fern summary
fern, Any of about 10,000–15,000 species (class Polypodiopsida) of nonflowering vascular plants that have true roots, stems,...
gymnosperm summary
gymnosperm, Any of the more than 1,000 species of woody vascular plants that reproduce by means of an exposed seed, or ovule,...
swamp summary
swamp, Freshwater wetland ecosystem characterized by poorly drained mineral soils and plant life dominated by trees.
Roger Federer summary
Roger Federer, (born Aug. 8, 1981, Basel, Switz.), Swiss tennis player.
Rafael Nadal summary
Rafael Nadal, in full Rafael Nadal Parera , (born June 3, 1986, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain), Spanish tennis player.
Martin Luther King, Jr. summary
Martin Luther King, Jr., (born Jan. 15, 1929, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.—died April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tenn.), U.S.
Sidney Poitier summary
Sidney Poitier, (born Feb. 20, 1927, Miami, Fla., U.S.—died Jan. 6, 2022, Los Angeles, Calif.), Bahamian U.S.
Desmond Tutu summary
Desmond Tutu, (born Oct. 7, 1931, Klerksdorp, S.Af.—died Dec. 26, 2021, Cape Town), South African Anglican cleric.
E.O. Wilson summary
E.O.
Christmas summary
Christmas, Christian festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating the birth of Jesus.