Born: 1873Birthplace: Hudson, Mass. Vacuum tube—Coolidge invented ductile tungsten, the filament material still used in incandescent lamps. He also invented the “Coolidge tube”, the model upon…
Born: 1930 Cataract Surgery. In 1963, Kelman designed the ultrasonic phacoemulsifier, which liquefies cataracts so they can be removed by suction. The pioneering procedure reduced the risk of…
Born: Nov. 6, 1906Boxing promoter and NHL owner president of International Boxing Club from 1949 until U.S. Supreme Court ordered its break-up (for anti-trust violations) in 1958; only NHL owner to…
(Walter Dumaux Edmonds)writerBorn: 7/15/1903Birthplace: Boonville, New York He won a Newbury Medal for his book The Matchlock Gun (1969) and a National Book Award for Bert Breen's Barn (1975). His…
(Encyclopedia) Jayaratne, D. M. (Disanayayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne), 1931–, Sri Lankan political leader. A cofounder of the Sri Lanka Freedom party (1951), he was a teacher and postmaster until…
(Encyclopedia) Palsgrave, JohnPalsgrave, Johnpălzˈgrāv, pôlzˈ– [key], d. 1554, English scholar, educated at Oxford and at the Univ. of Paris. Palsgrave was tutor to Henry VIII's daughter Mary (later…
(Encyclopedia) Cabot, John, fl. 1461–98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is…
(Encyclopedia) Dodd, Samuel Calvin Tate, 1836–1907, American lawyer, b. Franklin, Pa. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1859. Dodd was employed by the Rockefeller interests and is credited…
(Encyclopedia) Ashbery, John, 1927–2017, American poet, b. Rochester, N.Y., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1949), Columbia (M.A., 1951). Among the most acclaimed and influential American poets of his era, he…
(Encyclopedia) Ball, John, d. 1381, English priest and social reformer. He was one of the instigators of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 (see under Tyler, Wat). He was an itinerant for many years,…
