Libraries & Reference Works, RAN-ʿĀM

Looking to impress your friends with your expansive knowledge of historical events, philosophical concepts, obscure words, and more? We may be biased, but it seems fair enough to say that reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textbooks have provided such a service for years (in some cases, hundreds or even thousands of years). You can look for them at your local public library, which likely stores books, manuscripts, journals, CDs, movies, and other sources of information and entertainment.
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Libraries & Reference Works Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Ranganathan, S.R.
S.R. Ranganathan was an Indian librarian and educator who was considered the father of library science in India......
Ray, John
John Ray was a leading 17th-century English naturalist and botanist who contributed significantly to progress in......
Recorde, Robert
Robert Recorde was a physician, mathematician, and author of introductory mathematics textbooks. Recorde was educated......
Reuchlin, Johannes
Johannes Reuchlin was a German humanist, political counselor, and classics scholar whose defense of Hebrew literature......
Rhodes, Alexandre de
Alexandre de Rhodes was a Jesuit missionary who was the first Frenchman to visit Vietnam. De Rhodes was admitted......
Ribas, Óscar
Óscar Ribas was an Angolan folklorist and novelist, who recorded in Portuguese the oral tradition of the Mbundu......
Richardson, H.H.
H.H. Richardson was an American architect, the initiator of the Romanesque revival in the United States and a pioneer......
Riemann, Hugo
Hugo Riemann was a German musicologist whose works on music harmony are considered to have been the foundation......
Robert, Henry Martyn
Henry Martyn Robert was a U.S. Army officer, known as the author of the standard manual on parliamentary procedure......
Robert, Paul
Paul Robert was a French lexicographer who followed Émile Littré and Pierre Larousse in creating a French dictionary......
Robinson, Henry Peach
Henry Peach Robinson was an English photographer whose Pictorialist photographs and writings made him one of the......
Rokitansky, Karl, Freiherr von
Karl, baron von Rokitansky was an Austrian pathologist whose endeavours to establish a systematic picture of the......
Romer, Alfred Sherwood
Alfred Sherwood Romer was a U.S. paleontologist widely known for his concepts of evolutionary history of vertebrate......
Rosenbach, A S W
A. S. W. Rosenbach was a U.S. book and manuscript collector and dealer who combined solid scholarship and exceptional......
Ross, Edward A.
Edward A. Ross was a founder of sociology in the United States and one of the first sociologists to pursue a comprehensive......
Rosten, Leo
Leo Rosten was a Polish-born American author and social scientist best known for his popular books on Yiddish and......
Rowson, Susanna
Susanna Rowson was an English-born American actress, educator, and author of the first American best-seller, Charlotte......
Rugg, Harold
Harold Rugg was an American educator who created an influential social studies textbook series, Man and His Changing......
Rush, Benjamin
Benjamin Rush was an American physician and political leader, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer......
Russell, Henry Norris
Henry Norris Russell was an American astronomer—one of the most influential during the first half of the 20th century—who......
Russian State Library
Russian State Library, national library of Russia, located in Moscow, notable for its extensive collection of early......
Rāzī, al-
al-Rāzī was a celebrated alchemist and Muslim philosopher who is also considered to have been the greatest physician......
Sabbatini, Nicola
Nicola Sabbatini was an Italian architect and engineer who pioneered in theatrical perspective techniques. He worked......
Sachs, Curt
Curt Sachs was an eminent German musicologist, teacher, and authority on musical instruments. In his youth Sachs......
Salesbury, William
William Salesbury was a Welsh lexicographer and translator who is noted particularly for his Welsh-English dictionary......
Samuelson, Paul
Paul Samuelson was an American economist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1970 for his fundamental......
Sansovino, Jacopo
Jacopo Sansovino was a sculptor and architect who introduced the style of the High Renaissance into Venice. In......
Scherchen, Hermann
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor and champion of 20th-century music. He was influential in the careers......
Scott, Sir Giles Gilbert
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was an English architect who designed numerous public buildings in the eclectic style of......
Scottish National Dictionary
Scottish National Dictionary, dictionary published in Edinburgh and containing all Scottish words known to be in......
Sills, David L.
David L. Sills was an American sociologist known for his studies of organizational goals in voluntary associations.......
Simpson, Christopher
Christopher Simpson was an English composer, teacher, theorist, and one of the great virtuoso players in the history......
Small, Albion W
Albion W. Small was a sociologist who won recognition in the United States for sociology as an academic discipline......
Smellie, William
William Smellie was a Scottish compiler of the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1768–71) and a distinguished......
Smith, George
George Smith was a British publisher, best known for issuing the works of many Victorian writers and for publishing......
Sonneck, Oscar
Oscar Sonneck was an American musicologist, librarian, and editor. Sonneck was mainly educated in Germany and attended......
Sor, Fernando
Fernando Sor was a Catalan Romantic performer, composer, and teacher of guitar known for being among the first......
Soranus Of Ephesus
Soranus Of Ephesus, (near modern Selçuk, Turkey; fl. 2nd century ad, Alexandria and Rome), Greek gynecologist,......
South Bank
South Bank, loosely defined area along the south bank of the River Thames in the London borough of Lambeth. It......
Sparks, Jared
Jared Sparks was an American publisher and editor of the North American Review, biographer, and president of Harvard......
Spock, Benjamin
Benjamin Spock was an American pediatrician whose books on child-rearing, especially his Common Sense Book of Baby......
standard operating procedure
standard operating procedure (SOP), set of written guidelines or instructions for the completion of a routine task,......
star catalog
star catalog, list of stars, usually according to position and magnitude (brightness) and, in some cases, other......
Starling, Ernest Henry
Ernest Henry Starling was a British physiologist whose prolific contributions to a modern understanding of body......
Stephen, Sir Leslie
Sir Leslie Stephen was an English critic, man of letters, and the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography.......
Suyūṭī, al-
al-Suyūṭī was an Egyptian writer and teacher whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects, the Islamic religious......
Swammerdam, Jan
Jan Swammerdam was a Dutch naturalist, considered the most accurate of classical microscopists, who was the first......
Terzaghi, Karl
Karl Terzaghi was a civil engineer who founded the branch of civil engineering science known as soil mechanics,......
Thenard, Louis-Jacques
Louis-Jacques Thenard was a French chemist, teacher, and author of an influential four-volume text on basic chemical......
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, dictionary of the Latin language, published at Leipzig, Ger., the most important and......
Thierry de Chartres
Thierry de Chartres was a French theologian, teacher, encyclopaedist, and one of the foremost thinkers of the 12th......
Thompson, Sir D’Arcy Wentworth
Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson was a Scottish zoologist and classical scholar noted for his influential work On......
Thorndike–Barnhart dictionaries
Thorndike–Barnhart dictionaries, notable series of school dictionaries that were widely used in the United States......
Tinctoris, Johannes
Johannes Tinctoris was a Flemish music theorist, composer, and author of the earliest dictionary of musical terms.......
Tisserand, Félix
Félix Tisserand was a French astronomer noted for his textbook Traité de mécanique céleste, 4 vol. (1889–96; “Treatise......
Titchener, Edward B.
Edward B. Titchener was an English-born psychologist and a major figure in the establishment of experimental psychology......
Titchmarsh, Edward Charles
Edward Charles Titchmarsh was an English mathematician whose contributions to analysis placed him at the forefront......
Traill, Thomas Stewart
Thomas Stewart Traill was a Scottish professor of medical jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh from 1832,......
Trembley, Abraham
Abraham Trembley was a Swiss naturalist, best known for his studies of the freshwater hydra, mainly Chlorohydra......
Tresor de la langue française
Tresor de la langue française, comprehensive etymological and historical dictionary of the French language originally......
Universal Decimal Classification
Universal Decimal Classification, system of library organization. It is distinguished from the Dewey Decimal Classification......
Varro, Marcus Terentius
Marcus Terentius Varro was Rome’s greatest scholar and a satirist of stature, best known for his Saturae Menippeae......
Vatican Apostolic Library
Vatican Apostolic Library, official library of the Vatican, located inside the Vatican Palace. It is especially......
Verrius Flaccus, Marcus
Marcus Verrius Flaccus was a Roman freedman who became a learned scholar and grammarian and the most famous teacher......
Vesalius, Andreas
Andreas Vesalius was a Renaissance physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine......
Vigfússon, Gudbrandur
Gudbrandur Vigfússon was one of the 19th century’s foremost scholars of Old Norse, who completed the Richard Cleasby......
Vignola, Giacomo da
Giacomo da Vignola was an architect who, with Andrea Palladio and Giulio Romano, dominated Italian Mannerist architectural......
Vilakazi, Benedict Wallet
Benedict Wallet Vilakazi was a Zulu poet, novelist, and educator who devoted his career to the teaching and study......
Vincent Of Beauvais
Vincent Of Beauvais was a French scholar and encyclopaedist whose Speculum majus (“Great Mirror”) was probably......
Wales, Jimmy
Jimmy Wales is an American entrepreneur, who cofounded Wikipedia, a free Internet-based encyclopaedia operating......
Walther, Johann Gottfried
Johann Gottfried Walther was a German organist and composer who was one of the first musical lexicographers. Walther......
Watson, James
James Watson is an American geneticist and biophysicist who played a crucial role in the discovery of the molecular......
Weaver, John
John Weaver was a dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and theorist known as the father of English pantomime.......
Webster, Noah
Noah Webster was an American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book (1783) and his American Dictionary......
Weiner, Leó
Leó Weiner was a composer in the tradition of Brahms and Mendelssohn. He was a coach at the Budapest Comic Opera......
Wheeler, William Morton
William Morton Wheeler was an American entomologist recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on ants......
Whipple, Squire
Squire Whipple was a U.S. civil engineer, inventor, and theoretician who provided the first scientifically based......
Whitney, William Dwight
William Dwight Whitney was an American linguist and one of the foremost Sanskrit scholars of his time, noted especially......
Who’s Who
Who’s Who, any of numerous biographical dictionaries that give brief and pertinent information about prominent......
Who’s Who in America
Who’s Who in America, biographical dictionary that provides brief and pertinent information about prominent living......
Widener, Peter A.B.
Peter A.B. Widener was an American transportation magnate and philanthropist. The son of poor parents, Widener......
Wikipedia
Wikipedia, free Internet-based encyclopedia, started in 2001, that operates under an open-source management style.......
Wilson, Alexander
Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-born ornithologist and poet whose pioneering work on North American birds, American......
Wilson, E.O.
E.O. Wilson was an American biologist recognized as the world’s leading authority on ants. He was also the foremost......
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie, the standard Dutch encyclopaedia, published by Elsevier in Amsterdam. The first edition......
Winsor, Justin
Justin Winsor was a librarian who, as superintendent of the Boston Public Library (1868–77) and librarian of Harvard......
Witelo
Witelo was a Polish natural scientist and philosopher, best known for his Perspectiva (c. 1274). He studied arts......
Wittig, Monique
Monique Wittig was a French avant-garde novelist and radical feminist whose works include unconventional narratives......
Wood, Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth Wood was an American librarian and missionary, whose efforts brought numerous libraries to China......
Woodworth, Robert S.
Robert S. Woodworth was an American psychologist who conducted major research on learning and developed a system......
Worcester, Joseph Emerson
Joseph Emerson Worcester was an American lexicographer whose dictionaries rivaled those of Noah Webster in popularity......
World Book Encyclopedia
World Book Encyclopedia, American encyclopaedia designed to meet the curriculum needs of elementary through high-school......
Yongle dadian
Yongle dadian, Chinese compilation that was the world’s largest known encyclopaedia. Compiled during the Ming dynasty......
Zdarsky, Matthias
Matthias Zdarsky was a ski instructor who was considered the father of Alpine skiing and who was probably the first......
Zenodotus Of Ephesus
Zenodotus Of Ephesus was a Greek grammarian and the first superintendent (from c. 284 bc) of the library at Alexandria,......
ʿĀmilī, Bahāʾ ad-dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn, al-
Bahāʾ ad-dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-ʿĀmilī was a theologian, mathematician, jurist, and astronomer who was a major......

Libraries & Reference Works Encyclopedia Articles By Title