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Blass, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Blass, Bill (William Ralph Blass), 1922–2002, American fashion designer, b. Fort Wayne, Ind. Active for three decades, he was most noted for high-quality, high-priced, and quintessentially American ...

crane's-bill

(Encyclopedia)crane's-bill: see geranium.

Ford, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Ford, Bill: see under Ford, Henry. ...

Williams, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Bill: see Williams, William Sherley. ...

Mauldin, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Mauldin, Bill (William Henry Mauldin), 1921–2003, American cartoonist, b. Mountain Park, N.Mex. During World War II, in which he served as an infantryman-cartoonist in Italy, France, and Germany, Ma...

Rodgers, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, Bill, 1947–, American distance runner, b. Hartford, Conn. He helped to popularize distance running in the U.S. He won the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon four times each betw...

Gates, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Gates, Bill (William Henry Gates 3d), 1955–, American business executive, b. Seattle, Wash. At the age of 19, Gates founded (1975) the Microsoft Corp....

Cosby, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Cosby, Bill (William Henry Cosby, Jr.) kŏzˈbē [key], 1937–, American actor and comedian, b. Philadelphia. He became known as a comedian and was subsequently the first African-American actor to st...

Belichick, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Belichick, Bill (William Stephen Belichick), 1952–, American professional football coach, b. Nashville, Tenn. The son of a college coach, he played football at Wesleyan Univ. He held various coachin...

force bill

(Encyclopedia)force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...