actorBorn: 4/7/1964Birthplace: New Zealand New Zealand-born actor best known in the U.S. for his starring roles in the Academy Award-winning film L.A. Confidential (1997) and the Oscar-nominated…
financier Born: 8/4/1816Birthplace: Oneida County, N.Y. Having begun his career at age 12 in his brother's employ, he eventually bought the store from his brother; and opened his own wholesale…
George W. Bush's secretary of Agriculture Veneman brings vast experience to Bush's cabinet, having served as President Bush's deputy secretary of agriculture for international affairs and…
film director and screenwriterBorn: 8/6/1970Birthplace: Tamil-Nadu, India Shyamalan was a virtual unknown when The Sixth Sense arrived in movie theaters in 1999. The film, starring Bruce Willis and…
Born: 1921Birthplace: Stoughton, Mass Medical respirators—Bird developed the first highly reliable, low-cost mass-produced respirator in the world. His “Babybird ” respirator reduced infant…
Born: 1933Birthplace: Tarentum, Pa. Implantable defibrillator—Heilman, Langer, Mower, and Mirowski: This team of doctors developed the implantable defibrillator, an internal electronic device that…
director, screenwriter, actorBorn: 10/23/1959Birthplace: Royal Oak, Michigan This creative director has won a cult following for his campy horror films Evil Dead (1983), Evil Dead 2 (1987), Darkman…
(Encyclopedia) Garnier, Charles (Saint Charles Garnier)Garnier, Charlesshärl gärnyāˈ [key], 1606–49, French missionary in North America, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. He entered the…
(Encyclopedia) Lyell, Sir CharlesLyell, Sir Charleslīˈəl [key], 1797–1875, British geologist. After studying and briefly practicing law, he spent most of his life in travel and in popularizing…
(Encyclopedia) Scribner, Charles, 1821–71, American publisher, b. New York City. He founded in 1846 the publishing house that in 1878 became Charles Scribner's Sons and in 1870 he began Scribner's…