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Francis, Dick

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Dick (Richard Stanley Francis), 1920–2010, English novelist. He was a champion steeplechase jockey (1946–57) and a racing writer for a London newspaper (1957–73). Francis parlayed his k...

Jágr, Jaromír

(Encyclopedia)Jágr, Jaromír, 1972–, Czech ice hockey player, b. Kladno. Jágr played professional hockey in Czechoslovakia as a teenager, and joined the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League in 1990...

Nederland

(Encyclopedia)Nederland nēˈdərlənd [key], city (1990 pop. 16,192), Jefferson co., SE Tex.; founded by Dutch settlers as a rice-farming community in 1897, inc. 1940. Primarily a residential suburb between Beaumo...

Piltdown man

(Encyclopedia)Piltdown man, name given to human remains found during excavations (1908–15) at Piltdown, Sussex, England, by Charles Dawson. The find led to much speculation and argument. Since they were found wit...

Gates, John Warne

(Encyclopedia)Gates, John Warne, 1855–1911, American financier and promoter, known as Bet-a-Million Gates, b. near Chicago. He discovered a market for wire fencing on the Western plains, began the manufacture of ...

Avalon

(Encyclopedia)Avalon ăvˈəlŏn [key], in Celtic mythology, the blissful otherworld of the dead. In medieval romance it was the island to which the mortally wounded King Arthur was taken, and from which it was exp...

Middleton, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Middleton, Henry, 1717–84, American Revolutionary leader, b. near Charleston, S.C. A wealthy, influential planter, he held many official positions before resigning (1770) in protest against the Brit...

Lee, Francis Lightfoot

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 1734–97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur, Richard H., and William Lee. Whi...

Shero, Fred

(Encyclopedia)Shero, Fred (Frederick Alexander Shero), 1925–1990, Canadian hockey player and coach. He was a defenseman for the New York Rangers (1947–50), then played (1950–58) and coached (1958–70) in the...

Tappan, Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Tappan, Lewis, 1788–1873, American abolitionist, b. Northampton, Mass. He became a partner in his brother Arthur's New York mercantile house in 1828 and in 1841 founded the first agency for rating c...