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Woffington, Peg

(Encyclopedia)Woffington, Peg (Margaret Woffington), 1714?–1760, English actress, b. Dublin. Her charm and beauty as a child attracted attention, and at the age of 10 she acted in the role of Polly Peachum in a L...

Steinitz, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Steinitz, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm shtīˈnĭts [key], 1836–1900, German chess player. In 1866 he won a match from Adolf Anderssen, the leading player after Paul Morphy's retirement, and became world cha...

Dewey, Thomas Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Dewey, Thomas Edmund, 1902–71, American political figure, governor (1943–55) of New York, b. Owosso, Mich. Admitted (1925) to the bar, Dewey practiced law and in 1931 became chief assistant U.S. a...

Crosby, Bing

(Encyclopedia)Crosby, Bing krôzˈbē [key], 1903–77, American singer and film actor, b. Tacoma, Wash., as Harry Lillis Crosby. He sang with dance bands from 1925 to 1930 and in 1931 began work in radio and films...

Clark, Tom Campbell

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Tom Campbell, 1899–1977, U.S. attorney general (1945–49), associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1949–67), b. Dallas, Tex.; father of Ramsey Clark. He received his law degree from t...

Mazursky, Paul

(Encyclopedia) Mazursky, Paul (Irwin Lawrence Mazursky), 1939-2014, American film director, screenwriter, and actor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., Brooklyn College (B.A., 1951)...

Roosevelt, Eleanor

(Encyclopedia)Roosevelt, Eleanor (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt) rōˈzəvĕlt [key], 1884–1962, American humanitarian, b. New York City. The daughter of Elliott Roosevelt and niece of Theodore Roosevelt, she was an act...

Ickes, Harold LeClaire

(Encyclopedia)Ickes, Harold LeClaire ĭkˈēz [key], 1874–1952, American statesman, b. Blair co., Pa. As a Chicago newspaper reporter and later as a lawyer, he became interested in local reform politics. Original...

Marion, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Marion, Francis mârˈēən [key], c.1732–1795, American Revolutionary soldier, known as the Swamp Fox, b. near Georgetown, S.C. He was a planter and Indian fighter before joining (1775) William Mou...

Sikh Wars

(Encyclopedia)Sikh Wars (1845–49), two conflicts preceding the British annexation of the Punjab. By a treaty with the British in 1809, the Sikh ruler of the Punjab, Ranjit Singh, had accepted the Sutlej River as ...