John Green: Young adult books: Green coauthored his next book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (2010), with David Levithan. The novel relates the story of two extremely different teenagers who are both named Will Grayson. Their lives become intertwined after they meet. Green’s next book, The Fault in Our Stars, was published in 2012 and was…

Billy Preston: …reached number one with “Will It Go Round in Circles” (1973) and “Nothing from Nothing” (1974). He also co-wrote “You Are So Beautiful,” a gigantic hit for Joe Cocker.

You’ve finally retired! You planned for years and you’re finally getting those Social Security checks. But do you have to pay taxes on Social Security benefits? Can you also earn money at a “retirement job,” or would you have to pay more taxes? Do you pay taxes on your Social Security if you take

Willie Pep was an American professional boxer, world featherweight (126 pounds) champion during the 1940s. Pep specialized in finesse rather than slugging prowess and competed successfully in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s. His rivalry with American Sandy Saddler is considered one of the greatest of

Pierre Drieu La Rochelle: …and Le Feu follet (1931; The Fire Within, or Will o’ the Wisp; filmed by Louis Malle in 1963). Le Feu follet is the story of the last hours in the life of a young bourgeois Parisian addict who kills himself. In one fashion or another, the subject of decadence…

Will Penny, American western film, released in 1968, that was an intelligent and low-key study of a cowboy faced with the dilemma of middle age. Charlton Heston gave one of his finest performances in the title role. Will Penny is an aging cowboy who realizes that his way of life as a cowhand is

Santa Monica: Will Rogers State Beach and Will Rogers State Historic Park are both nearby. Inc. 1886. Pop. (2000) 84,084; (2010) 89,736.

The so-called Social Security crisis has taken root in the popular imagination, stoking fears that this pillar of retirement income in the U.S. could collapse, taking with it trillions of dollars in promised benefits. But is Social Security really running out of money? As with Mark Twain’s

Frank Tashlin: Films of the late 1950s: adapted George Axelrod’s Broadway play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), which had launched Mansfield to stardom in 1955 (and for which she had won a Tony Award). A clever satire of the world of advertising and the American obsession with consumption, Tashlin’s film version centres on a Marilyn Monroe-like…

Roy Acuff: …music with such albums as Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972), performed with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In 1962 Acuff was elected the first living member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

William James: Interest in religion: …which the most notable is The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897). During this decade, which may be correctly described as James’s religious period, all of his studies were concerned with one aspect or another of the religious question.

Friedrich Nietzsche: Nietzsche’s mature philosophy: …life itself with the “will to power,” that is, with an instinct for growth and durability. That concept provides yet another way of interpreting the ascetic ideal, since it is Nietzsche’s contention “that all the supreme values of mankind lack this will—that values which are symptomatic of decline, nihilistic…

Friedrich Nietzsche: Collapse and misuse: …Der Wille zur Macht (1901; The Will to Power). She also committed petty forgeries. Generations of commentators were misled. Equally important, her enthusiasm for Hitler linked Nietzsche’s name with that of the dictator in the public mind.

Estate planning isn’t just for the uber-wealthy. In fact, if you have any property or assets at all, it probably makes sense to create a will or a living trust to ensure that your wishes are followed after you pass on. But deciding on a will versus a living trust—like all estate planning

The Brill Building: Assembly-Line Pop: …1960s: Goffin and King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for the Shirelles and “One Fine Day” for the Chiffons and Mann and Weil’s “Uptown” and Pitney’s “He’s a Rebel” for the Crystals. Producer Phil Spector was perhaps the Brill Building’s biggest customer as well as a frequent collaborator. He…

Raymond Carver: The highly successful short-story collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976) established his reputation.

Cumberland, city, seat (1789) of Allegany county, northwestern Maryland, U.S. It lies in a bowl-shaped valley in the narrow panhandle region between Pennsylvania (north) and West Virginia (south), bounded by the Potomac River to the south. It is situated at the entrance to Cumberland Narrows, a

George Will is an American journalist and pundit known for espousing political conservatism, particularly in his columns for The Washington Post and Newsweek. Will was, along with a sister, raised in Champaign, where his father taught philosophy at the University of Illinois and his mother edited

George Will is an American journalist and pundit known for espousing political conservatism, particularly in his columns for The Washington Post and Newsweek. Will was, along with a sister, raised in Champaign, where his father taught philosophy at the University of Illinois and his mother edited

jack-o’-lantern, in meteorology, a mysterious light seen at night flickering over marshes; when approached, it advances, always out of reach. The phenomenon is also known as will-o’-the-wisp and ignis fatuus (Latin: “foolish fire”). In popular legend it is considered ominous and is often purported

Black Eyed Peas: …their group Atban Klann, rappers will.i.am (byname of William James Adams, Jr.; b. March 15, 1975, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) and apl.de.ap (byname of Allan Pineda Lindo; b. November 28, 1974, Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines) recruited MC and dancer Taboo (byname of Jaime Luis Gomez; b. July 14, 1975, East…

Red Cloud: …have been restored as the Willa Cather Thematic District, recognized as a national historic landmark. Inc. 1872. Pop. (2000) 1,131; (2010) 1,020.

Johann Friedrich Willading was a Swiss statesman who played a significant role in securing the transfer of the principality of Neuchâtel to the Prussian house of Hohenzollern (1707). Descended from a Bernese patrician family, Willading had, by 1694, become the leader of Bern’s anti-French party and

Steen Willadsen is a Danish embryologist who was the first to clone a mammal from embryonic cells in a technique known as nuclear transfer. Willadsen’s studies opened the way for the later development of cloning from adult (mature) mammalian cells and the birth (1996) of Dolly the sheep, the first

Adriaan Willaert was a Flemish composer who contributed significantly to the development of the Italian madrigal, and who established Venice as one of the most influential musical centres of the 16th century. Willaert studied law at the University of Paris but abandoned this in favour of music,

Eugene: …MacKenzie River recreational area and Willamette National Forest, headquartered in the city. The Oregon Bach Festival has been held annually in the city since 1970. A bohemian district of bookstores, cafés, and art galleries surrounding the University of Oregon campus attracts many visitors. Tie-dyed clothing and alternative lifestyles are not…

Willamette River, watercourse of western Oregon, U.S. It is formed by the confluence of the Coast and Middle forks southeast of Eugene. It flows northward for 183 miles (295 km) past Corvallis, Albany, Salem, and Oregon City into the Columbia River near Portland. It is navigable downstream to

Willamette River: …forming the 30-mile- (48-km-) wide Willamette Valley, which holds the state’s most populous cities. Its tributaries have many dams, which regulate the flow of water for flood control and navigation and supply hydroelectric power to the region.

Oregon: Education of Oregon: …Reed College (1909), in Portland; Willamette University (1842), in Salem; and Lewis and Clark College (1867), in Portland. Moreover, there are numerous community colleges administered by lay boards, supported by local taxes, and responsive to local needs in their curricula.

history of technology: Steam engines: The Willans engine design, for instance, was of this type and was widely adopted in early British power stations. Another important modification in the reciprocating design was the uniflow engine, which increased efficiency by exhausting steam from ports in the centre of the cylinder instead of…

Washington: Relief and drainage: The Willapa Hills parallel the coast from Grays Harbor to the Columbia River in the southwest. Gentle forested slopes descend to an indented Pacific coastline and, north and east of the hills, to the fertile Chehalis and Cowlitz valleys.

Daniel Mann: …had a surprise hit with Willard, a horror film about a lonely young man who befriends rats and then trains them to kill.

Muriel Rukeyser: In 1942 she published Willard Gibbs: American Genius, a biography of the 19th-century mathematician and physicist.

Emma Willard was an American educator whose work in women’s education, particularly as founder of the Troy Female Seminary, spurred the establishment of high schools for girls and of women’s colleges and coeducational universities. Emma Hart was the next-to-last of 17 children; her younger sister

Frances Willard was an American educator, reformer, and founder of the World Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (1883). An excellent speaker, a successful lobbyist, and an expert in pressure politics, she was a leader of the national Prohibition Party. Willard grew up from the age of two in

Frances Willard was an American educator, reformer, and founder of the World Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (1883). An excellent speaker, a successful lobbyist, and an expert in pressure politics, she was a leader of the national Prohibition Party. Willard grew up from the age of two in

Christopher Guest: Acting career: …Alan Arkin and featured actor Fred Willard, who later became one of Guest’s essential collaborators. About this time Guest dropped Haden from his stage name, fearing that it sounded like an affectation. In addition to stage work, Guest had small roles in the films The Hospital (1971) and The Hot…

Jess Willard was an American prizefighter, world heavyweight boxing champion from April 5, 1915, when he knocked out American Jack Johnson in 26 rounds in Havana, to July 4, 1919, when he was knocked out by American Jack Dempsey in three rounds in Toledo, Ohio. (Read Gene Tunney’s 1929 Britannica

Simon Willard was a famous American clock maker. Willard was the creator of the timepiece that came to be known as the banjo clock, and he was the most celebrated of a family of Massachusetts clock makers who designed and produced brass-movement clocks between 1765 and 1850. About 1780 Willard

Sir William Willcocks was a British civil engineer who proposed and designed the first Aswān (Assuan) Dam and executed major irrigation projects in South Africa and Turkey. In 1872 he entered the Indian Public Works Department and in 1883 began work in the Egyptian Public Works Department. While

Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum: In 1801 the botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow became director and began to rehabilitate the garden; a decade later he had created what was to become one of the outstanding botanical research centres and public displays of Europe. The botanical garden and museum were nearly destroyed in World War II…

Friedrich Nietzsche: Collapse and misuse: …Der Wille zur Macht (1901; The Will to Power). She also committed petty forgeries. Generations of commentators were misled. Equally important, her enthusiasm for Hitler linked Nietzsche’s name with that of the dictator in the public mind.

Ulrich Wille was a Swiss military leader and commander in chief of the Swiss Army during World War I who made major federal military reforms. Wille studied the organization of the Prussian Army in Berlin and attempted various changes in the federal army along Prussian lines. He reorganized the

Mabel Walker Willebrandt was an American lawyer who served as assistant attorney general of the United States from 1921 to 1929 during the Prohibition era. She was notorious for relentlessly enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment—the prohibition against the manufacture and sale of alcoholic

canals and inland waterways: Europe: …the Sambre was canalized; the Willebroek Canal was extended southward with the building of the Charleroi-Brussels Canal in 1827; and somewhat later the Campine routes were opened to serve Antwerp and connect the Meuse and Schelde. When the growth of the textile trade in Ghent created a need for better…

Wolfram von Eschenbach: …epic Parzival; the unfinished epic Willehalm, telling the history of the Crusader Guillaume d’Orange; and short fragments of a further epic, the so-called Titurel, which elaborates the tragic love story of Sigune from book 3 of Parzival.

William III was a conservative king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1849–90) who was influential in forming Dutch ministries until 1868 but was unable to prevent liberal control of the government. The eldest son of King William II, William married his cousin Sophia, daughter of

William I was the first of the hereditary stadtholders (1572–84) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and leader of the revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule and the Catholic religion. William, the eldest son of William, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, grew up in a cultivated Lutheran

William I was the king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40) who sparked a commercial and industrial revival following the period of French rule (1795–1813), but provoked the Belgian revolt of 1830 through his autocratic methods. The son of William V, prince of Orange, William

William II was the king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1840–49) whose reign saw the reestablishment of fiscal stability and the transformation of the Netherlands into a more liberal monarchy through the constitution of 1848. Exiled to England with his family in 1795, William

William III was the stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands as William III (1672–1702) and king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702), reigning jointly with Queen Mary II (until her death in 1694). He directed the European opposition to Louis XIV of France and, in Great

Pieter Geyl: His next book, Willem IV en Engeland tot 1748 (1924), discussed the struggle between the party of Orange and the republican States Party and its effects on the Dutch Republic’s foreign policy, themes that were to become dominant in many of his later works. A collection of articles,…

William IV was the prince of Orange and Nassau, general hereditary stadtholder of the United Netherlands. The posthumous son of John William Friso of the house of Nassau-Dietz, William became stadtholder of Friesland and then later also of Groningen and of Gelderland, assuming his full functions in

William Louis was the count of Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe, who with his cousin, Maurice of Nassau, prince of Orange, formulated the military strategy of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands), against Spain from 1588 to 1609.

Willem Pretorius Game Reserve, game sanctuary in Free State province, South Africa, adjoining Allemanskraal Dam northeast of Bloemfontein. Established in 1956, it occupies 46 sq mi (120 sq km) in the Highveld plateau typical of the Free State. It includes the Doringberg hills, a storage reservoir

Willem Van Ruysbroeck was a French Franciscan friar whose eyewitness account of the Mongol realm is generally acknowledged to be the best written by any medieval Christian traveller. A contemporary of the English scientist and philosopher Roger Bacon, he was cited frequently in the geographical

Willem-Alexander, king of the Netherlands ascended to the Dutch throne in 2013, when his mother, Beatrix, abdicated. Willem-Alexander was the son of then Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. First in the line of succession since his mother’s accession to the throne on April 30, 1980, he also bore the

Willem-Alexander, king of the Netherlands ascended to the Dutch throne in 2013, when his mother, Beatrix, abdicated. Willem-Alexander was the son of then Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. First in the line of succession since his mother’s accession to the throne on April 30, 1980, he also bore the

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Napoleonic period (1805–16) of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: In Frankfurt he met Marianne Jung, just 30 years old and about to marry the 54-year-old banker Johann Jakob von Willemer; Goethe and Marianne took to writing each other love poems in the Ḥāfeẓ manner and continued to write them, both after Goethe had returned to Weimar and when…

willemite, white or greenish yellow silicate mineral, zinc silicate, Zn2SiO4, that is found as crystals, grains, or fibres with other zinc ores in many deposits. Included are various localities in Sussex County, New Jersey, where it occurs in crystalline limestone and constitutes an important zinc

Jan Frans Willems was a Flemish poet, playwright, essayist, known as the "Father of the Flemish Movement," and the most important philologist of the Dutch language of his time. Willems was appointed assistant city archivist of Antwerp in 1815 and registrar in 1821. During these years he wrote plays

Paul Willems was a Belgian novelist and playwright whose playful strategies and fascination with language, doubles, analogies, and mirror images mask a modern tragic sensibility. He expressed the identity crisis of postwar Belgium in an idiosyncratic and often savagely ironic style. Willems was the

Willemstad, capital and chief town of Curaçao, located on the southern coast of the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea. It is divided into two parts by Sint Anna Bay, leading to Schottegat Harbour. The two halves, Punda and Otrabanda (“Other Side”), are joined by the Koningin Emma (“Queen

Brent: …the amalgamation of Wembley and Willesden (both in the former Middlesex county). It is named for the small River Brent, a tributary of the River Thames that formed the boundary between the former boroughs of Wembley and Willesden. Within the borough are Victorian and later residential suburbs, industrial areas, office…

willet, (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), large, long-billed shorebird of America, belonging to the family Scolopacidae (order Charadriiformes), which also includes the snipes, turnstones, and curlews. The willet is named for its loud call. Willets are about 40 centimetres (16 inches) long and gray,

Daylight Saving Time: In 1907 an Englishman, William Willett, campaigned for setting the clock ahead by 80 minutes in four moves of 20 minutes each during April and the reverse in September. In 1909 the British House of Commons rejected a bill to advance the clock by one hour in the spring…

Charles VI: …expedition in August 1388 against Duke William of Gelderland; Charles, however, made a speedy peace with William and returned to France.

William was a German king from Oct. 3, 1247, elected by the papal party in Germany as antiking in opposition to Conrad IV and subsequently gaining general recognition. As William II, he was also count of Holland, succeeding his father, Count Floris IV, in 1234. William was elected German king to

College of William & Mary, state coeducational university of liberal arts at Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S. The second oldest institution of higher education in the United States (after Harvard College), it was chartered in 1693 by co-sovereigns King William III and Queen Mary II of England to

Shea Stadium, former multipurpose stadium, located in Queens, New York, that was the home of the professional sports teams the New York Mets of Major League Baseball and the New York Jets of the National Football League. The venue also hosted famous concerts, most notably the Beatles in 1965, as

William and Mary style, style of decorative arts so named during the reign (1689–1702) of William III and Mary II of England. When William came to the English throne from the house of Orange, he encouraged many Dutch artisans to follow him. In addition to these craftsmen, Huguenot refugees from

William, prince of Wales is the elder son of Charles III and Diana, princess of Wales, and the heir apparent to the British throne. William is one of the most popular members of the British royal family, and he has come to personify the modern monarchy. William is the first British heir apparent

Jasper: William B. Bankhead National Forest is 15 miles (24 km) north. Lewis Smith Lake, with 500 miles (800 km) of shoreline, provides recreational opportunities. The Alabama Mining Museum, in nearby Dora, commemorates the importance of coal mining in the state’s history. The Foothills Festival, featuring…

William Blackwood: …of the publishing firm of William Blackwood and Sons, Ltd.

William Clito was the count of Flanders and titular duke of Normandy (as William IV, or as William III if England’s William Rufus’ earlier claim to the duchy is not acknowledged). Son of Duke Robert II Curthose (and grandson of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders), William Clito was

William de Hauteville was a Norman adventurer, the eldest of 12 Hauteville brothers, a soldier of fortune who led the first contingent of his family from Normandy to southern Italy. He undertook its conquest and quickly became count of Apulia. William and his brothers Drogo and Humphrey responded

William De La Mare was an English philosopher and theologian, advocate of the traditional Neoplatonic-Augustinian school of Christian philosophy, and leading critic of the Aristotelian thought introduced by Thomas Aquinas. A member of the Franciscan order, William became a master of theology at the

Filene’s, a Boston department store that pioneered a number of retailing innovations. It was founded in 1881 by Prussian immigrant William Filene and his sons, Edward and Lincoln. Well-known for its high-quality fashion merchandise, Filene’s became famous for its Automatic Bargain Basement. This

William Gordon, 6th Viscount Kenmure was a Scottish Jacobite who was miscast as a leader in the rebellion of 1715 on behalf of James Edward, the Old Pretender, against King George I. His father, Alexander Gordon, 5th Viscount Kenmure (d. 1698), had fought for King William III against the forces of

Gates Foundation, private philanthropic foundation established in 2000 by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and his wife, businesswoman Melinda Gates. It focuses its grant-making and advocacy efforts on eliminating global inequities and increasing opportunities for those in need through programs that

Sorel-Tracy, city, Montérégie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. It lies at the mouth of the Richelieu River, on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River. Fort-Richelieu (marked by a monument) was erected on the site in 1642. In 1672 a land grant was obtained by the fort commandant, Pierre

Abby Morton Diaz: …William Henry Letters, whose sequels, William Henry and His Friends (1872) and Lucy Maria (1874), were also very popular. Her subsequent books include six volumes of the Story Tree Series, as well as Story Book for Children (1875), Christmas Morning (1880), Jimmyjohns (1881), Polly Cologne (1881), and Bybury to

William III was the stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands as William III (1672–1702) and king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702), reigning jointly with Queen Mary II (until her death in 1694). He directed the European opposition to Louis XIV of France and, in Great

William I was the king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40) who sparked a commercial and industrial revival following the period of French rule (1795–1813), but provoked the Belgian revolt of 1830 through his autocratic methods. The son of William V, prince of Orange, William

William I was a noble who made himself the mightiest in France and then changed the course of England’s history through his conquest of that country in 1066. One of the greatest soldiers and rulers of the Middle Ages, he was duke of Normandy from 1035 and king of England, as William I, from 1066

William I was a German emperor from 1871, as well as king of Prussia from 1861. He was a sovereign whose conscientiousness and self-restraint fitted him for collaboration with stronger statesmen in raising his monarchy and the house of Hohenzollern to predominance in Germany. He was the second son

Hesse-Kassel: The elector William I (reigned 1785–1821) pursued a policy of neutrality toward Napoleon, who nevertheless occupied Hesse-Kassel after the Battle of Jena (1806) and in 1807 united it with the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1815 Hesse-Kassel regained its independence, but the elector William I and his successor…

William I was the Norman king of Sicily, an able ruler who successfully repressed the conspiracies of the barons of his realm. His epithet was bestowed on him by his hapless enemies. He patronized science and letters and showed religious tolerance; among those who frequented his court were many

William I was the first of the hereditary stadtholders (1572–84) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and leader of the revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule and the Catholic religion. William, the eldest son of William, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, grew up in a cultivated Lutheran

William I was the king of Scotland from 1165 to 1214; although he submitted to English overlordship for 15 years (1174–89) of his reign, he ultimately obtained independence for his kingdom. William was the second son of the Scottish Henry, Earl of Northumberland, whose title he inherited in 1152.

William I was the son of Rollo and second duke of Normandy (927–942). He sought continually to expand his territories either by conquest or by exacting new lands from the French king for the price of homage. In 939 he allied himself with Hugh the Great in the revolt against King Louis IV; through

Aquitaine: History: …of the 9th century by William I (the Pious), count of Auvergne and the founder of the abbey of Cluny. In the first half of the 10th century the counts of Auvergne, of Toulouse, and of Poitiers each claimed this ducal title, but it was eventually secured by another William…

William II was the last Norman king of Sicily; under a regency from 1166, he ruled in person from 1171. He became known as William the Good because of his policy of clemency and justice toward the towns and the barons, in contrast with his father, William I the Bad. After the regency of his mother,

William II was the king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1840–49) whose reign saw the reestablishment of fiscal stability and the transformation of the Netherlands into a more liberal monarchy through the constitution of 1848. Exiled to England with his family in 1795, William

The Hague: Count William II built a castle there in 1248, around which several buildings came to be clustered, and these became the principal residence of the counts of Holland. These buildings now form the Binnenhof (“Inner Courtyard”) in the old quarter of the city. Among the great…

William II was the prince of Orange, count of Nassau, stadtholder and captain general of six provinces of the Netherlands from 1647, and the central figure of a critical struggle for power in the Dutch Republic. The son of Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, he was guaranteed, in a series of acts

Hesse-Kassel: …William I and his successor William II (reigned 1821–47) were reactionaries who overturned the liberal reforms made in Hesse-Kassel previously by the French. The electors continuously quarreled with liberal reformers in the Diet (legislative assembly), and in 1831 revolutionary action compelled William II to turn over control of the government…

William II was the German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prussia from 1888 to the end of World War I in 1918, known for his frequently militaristic manner as well as for his vacillating policies. William was the eldest child of Crown Prince Frederick (later Emperor Frederick III) and of Victoria, the

William II was the son of William I the Conqueror and king of England from 1087 to 1100; he was also de facto duke of Normandy (as William III) from 1096 to 1100. He prevented the dissolution of political ties between England and Normandy, but his strong-armed rule earned him a reputation as a