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Montejo, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Montejo, Francisco de fränthēsˈkō dā mōntāˈhō [key], c.1479–c.1548, Spanish conquistador. He served in Cuba under Diego Velásquez, later commanded a vessel in the expedition of Juan de Gri...

Earp, Wyatt Berry Stapp

(Encyclopedia)Earp, Wyatt Berry Stapp ûrp [key], 1848–1929, law officer, gambler, and gunfighter of the American West, b. Monmouth, Ill. After serving as police officer in Wichita (1874) and Dodge City (1876–7...

comuneros

(Encyclopedia)comuneros kōmo͞onāˈrōs [key], in Spain and Spanish America, citizens of a city or cities when organized to defend their rights against arbitrary encroachment of government. The first great revolt...

Unitas, Johnny

(Encyclopedia)Unitas, Johnny yo͞onītˈəs [key], 1933–2002, American football player, widely regarded as the greatest professional quarterback of all time; b. Pittsburgh. After playing for the Univ. of Louisvil...

Ride, Sally Kristen

(Encyclopedia)Ride, Sally Kristen 1951–2012, American astrophysicist and astronaut, b. Encino, Calif. With an M.A. in physics (1975) and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Stanford Univ., she joined NASA in 1978, where...

Ojeda, Alonso de

(Encyclopedia)Ojeda, Alonso de älōnˈsō ᵺā ōhāˈᵺä [key], c.1466–1515?, Spanish conquistador. He joined Columbus on his second voyage and in 1499—at first accompanied by Vespucci—explored the north...

streetcar

(Encyclopedia)streetcar, small, self-propelled railroad car, similar to the type used in rapid-transit systems, that operates on tracks running through city streets and is used to carry passengers. Most often cars ...

Manco Capac, d. 1544, Inca ruler

(Encyclopedia)Manco Capac, d. 1544, last of the Inca rulers, son of Huayna Capac. After the deaths of Huáscar and Atahualpa, Manco Capac was crowned (1534) emperor by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro but...

Markowitz, Harry Max

(Encyclopedia)Markowitz, Harry Max märˈkəwĭtsˌ [key], 1927–, American economist, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1954. In the 1950s he developed a theory of “portfolio choice,” which allows investors to analyze ...

Mullis, Kary Banks

(Encyclopedia)Mullis, Kary Banks, 1944–2019, American biochemist, b. Lenoir, N.C., Ph.D. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1972. Mullis was a researcher with Cetus Corp., Emeryville, Calif., from 1979 to 1986 and wi...