(Encyclopedia) Dole, Sanford Ballard, 1844–1926, Hawaiian statesman, b. Honolulu, of American missionary parents. After education in the United States he returned to Hawaii and became prominent in…
(Encyclopedia) independent counsel, in U.S. law, a judicially appointed investigator of charges of misdeeds by high government officials. Originally termed “special prosecutor,” the position was…
(Encyclopedia) Somers, John Somers or Sommers, BaronSomers, John Somers or Sommers, Baronsŭmˈərz [key], 1651–1716, English jurist and statesman. In the Glorious Revolution he secured Parliament's…
(Encyclopedia) Bridges, Harry (Alfred Renton Bridges), 1901–90, American labor leader, b. Melbourne, Australia. Arriving (1920) as an immigrant seaman in San Francisco, he became a longshoreman and…
(Encyclopedia) Wilberforce, William, 1759–1833, British politician and humanitarian. He was elected to Parliament in 1780 and during the campaign formed a lifelong friendship with William Pitt, whose…
(Encyclopedia) Waters, Muddy, 1915–83, African-American blues singer and guitarist, b. Rolling Fork, Miss., as McKinley Morganfield. As a teenager he began singing and playing traditional country…
(Encyclopedia) Weaver, Sigourney , 1949- , American actress, b. New York, N.Y., as Susan Alexandra Weaver, Stanford Univ. (B.A., 1972), Yale Univ. (M.…
(Encyclopedia) Boston Tea Party, 1773. In the contest between British Parliament and the American colonists before the Revolution, Parliament, when repealing the Townshend Acts, had retained the tea…
(Encyclopedia) Brady, Tom (Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.), 1977–, American football player, b. San Mateo, Calif. One of the greatest professional quarterbacks of all time, he attended the Univ. of…
Marked by the dissolution of the USSR and conflict in Chechnya by David Johnson 1991 1994 1998 2000 2004 2008 2012 2014 1991 Soviet Union disintegrates; 14 former republics become independent…