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Billy the Kid

(Encyclopedia)Billy the Kid, 1859–81, American outlaw, b. New York City. His real name was probably Henry McCarty; he was known as William H. Bonney. His family moved to Kansas and then to New Mexico when he was ...

Kid, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Kid, Thomas: see Kyd, Thomas.

Wilder, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Wilder, Billy, 1906–2002, American film director, producer, and writer, b. Sucha, Galicia (now Poland) as Samuel Wilder. He wrote for films in Berlin, fled the Nazis, and arrived in Hollywood in 193...

Sunday, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Sunday, Billy (William Ashley Sunday), 1863–1935, American evangelist, b. Ames, Iowa, in the era around World War I. A professional baseball player (1883–90), he later worked for the Young Men's C...

Graham, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Graham, Billy (William Franklin Graham)gr´m [key], 1918–2018, American evangelist, b. Charlotte, N.C., grad. Wheaton College (B.A., 1943). Graham was ordained a minister in the Southern Baptist...

Beane, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Beane, Billy (William Lamar Beane 3d), 1962–, American baseball player and general manager, b. Orlando, Fla. An outfielder with a lifetime average of .219, he had a short, unimpressive career with t...

Strayhorn, Billy

(Encyclopedia)Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas Strayhorn), 1915–67, African-American jazz composer, arranger, lyricist, and pianist, b. Dayton, Ohio. Classically trained, he was drawn to jazz, and early in his ca...

Mesilla

(Encyclopedia)Mesilla ms´yä [key], town (1990 pop. 1,975), SW N.Mex., on the Rio Grande and near Las Cruces; settled c.1850. The whole Mesilla Valley became part of the United States under the Gadsden Purchas...

Chisum, John Simpson

(Encyclopedia)Chisum, John Simpson chz´m [key], 1824–84, American cattleman, b. Tennessee. In 1837 he moved with his family to Texas. He had no formal education but worked as a builder and contractor, buildi...

Penn, Arthur Hiller

(Encyclopedia)Penn, Arthur Hiller, 1922–2010, American director, brother of Irving Penn, b. Philadelphia; studied Black Mountain College and the Actors' Studio, Los Angeles. Penn, who often dealt with themes of a...