American actor who made his name in leading stage roles in Shakespeare ’s Othello and in The Great White Hope, a play about the tragic career of the first black heavyweight boxing champion.

(1990–91), international conflict that was triggered by Iraq ’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.

Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.

Science, technology, environment and health news and discussion from the makers of the NPR public radio program Science Friday with host Ira Flatow.

Explore billeguerriero's photos on Flickr. billeguerriero has uploaded 243 photos to Flickr.

Landlocked country of western Africa, mostly in the Saharan and Sahelian regions. Mali is largely flat and arid. The Niger River flows through its interior, functioning as the main trading and transport...

Pancakes are very nearly a human universal, much like basic color terms and the incest taboo. Just about every society that has knowledge of fire, flour, and water makes something like a pancake.

American folksinger and political activist who interested young audiences in folk music during the 1960s. Despite the inevitable fading of the folk music revival, Baez continued to be a popular performer.

English-American writer and political pamphleteer whose Common Sense and “Crisis” papers were important influences on the American Revolution.

37th president of the United States (1969–74), who, faced with almost certain impeachment for his role in the Watergate Scandal, became the first American president to resign from office.

American popular singer widely known as the “King of Rock and Roll” and one of rock music’s dominant performers from the mid-1950s until his death.

That the climate is changing is ever more evident, as seas rise, winds blow stronger, temperatures vault. With that change, significant portions of the world are being remade: the icy Arctic is becoming temperate, the Sahara and other deserts are growing, and grasslands and forests are disappearing.

It has been taken on faith by many that the future of book publishing is digital, that the e-book will displace the printed codex as the dominant form of the dominant artifact of modern culture.

English physicist and mathematician, who was the culminating figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.

Taking a look back at 2012 with this summary of notable anniversaries by Encyclopaedia Britannica editor Patricia Bauer.

Photo Issue 2012: reader-submitted images honoring Chicago's quiet-but-worthy moments

American author and biochemist, a highly successful and prolific writer of science fiction and of science books for the layperson. He published about 500 volumes.

Edict issued by U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, that freed the slaves of the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union.

Any of the social, cultural, and religious observances worldwide that celebrate the beginning of the new year. Such festivals are among the oldest and the most universally observed.

Welsh stage and film actor of burning intensity, often seen at his best when playing pathetic misfits or characters on the fringes of insanity.

Swahili “First Fruits” adaptation of an African harvest festival, celebrated from December 26 to January 1. It was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies.

English writer whose novels, through their nonlinear approaches to narrative, exerted a major influence on the genre.

American philosopher, educator, editor, and advocate of adult and general education by study of the great writings of the Western world.