(Encyclopedia) Parks, Rosa Louise, 1913–2005, American civil-rights activist, b. Tuskegee, Ala., as Rosa Louise McCauley. A seamstress and long-time activist-member of the Montgomery, Ala., chapter…
(Encyclopedia) Jackson, MahaliaJackson, Mahaliaməhălˈyə [key], 1911–72, American gospel singer, b. New Orleans. She sang in church choirs during her childhood. Moving (1927) to Chicago, she worked at…
(Encyclopedia) Mayweather, Floyd, Jr., 1977–, American boxer, b. Grand Rapids, Mich., as Floyd Joy Sinclair. He began boxing at an early age, coached by his father, a welterweight boxer whose name he…
(Encyclopedia) Behaim, Behem, or Boeheim, MartinBehaim, Behem, or Boeheim, Martinall: bāˈhīm [key], b. 1436? or 1459?, d. 1506?, German traveler and cosmographer. He studied (possibly under…
(Encyclopedia) Berle, Adolf Augustus, Jr.Berle, Adolf Augustus, Jr.bûrˈlē [key], 1895–1971, American lawyer and public official, b. Boston. Admitted to the bar in 1916, he served in World War I and…
civil rights activistBorn: 3/24/1912Died: 4/20/2010Best Known as: president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Dorothy Height helped shape and guide the civil…
(Encyclopedia) Saint MartinSaint MartinsăN märtăNˈ [key], Du. Sint Maarten, island, 37 sq mi (96 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands. Since its occupation in 1648 by the Dutch and the…