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Stiegel, Henry William

(Encyclopedia)Stiegel, Henry William stēˈgəl [key], 1729–85, American iron and glass manufacturer, b. Germany. He emigrated to America, arriving in Philadelphia (1750). In 1758 he purchased his father-in-law's...

Baruch, Bernard Mannes

(Encyclopedia)Baruch, Bernard Mannes bəro͞okˈ [key], 1870–1965, U.S. financier and government adviser, b. Camden, S.C. He grew rich through stockmarket speculation before he was 30. In World War I he advised o...

Pulkovo

(Encyclopedia)Pulkovo po͞olˈkəvə [key], astronomical observatory, S of St. Petersburg, NW Russia. Pulkovo was built (1834–39) under a commission headed by F. G. W. von Struve. In 1839 its 15-in. (38-cm) refra...

Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon

(Encyclopedia)Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon, 1890–1973, American war hero and airline executive, b. Columbus, Ohio. He became a car racing driver at 16 and set numerous speed records. In World War I he volunteered ...

Spenser, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Spenser, Edmund, 1552?–1599, English poet, b. London. He was the friend of men eminent in literature and at court, including Gabriel Harvey, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Robert Sidney,...

Leidy, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Leidy, Joseph līˈdē [key], 1823–91, American scientist, b. Philadelphia, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania medical school. From 1853 he taught anatomy at his alma mater. He was also professor of natura...

Moreto y Cabaña, Agustín

(Encyclopedia)Moreto y Cabaña, Agustín ägo͞ostēnˈ mōrāˈtō ē käbäˈnyä [key], 1618–69, dramatic poet of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Madrid. Moreto borrowed and often improved upon the plots of others,...

Vespucci, Amerigo

(Encyclopedia)Vespucci, Amerigo ämārēˈgō vāspo͞otˈchē [key], 1454–1512, Italian navigator in whose honor America was named, b. Florence. He entered the commercial service of the Medici and in 1492 moved ...

Wise, Stephen Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Wise, Stephen Samuel, 1874–1949, American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader, b. Budapest, grad. College of the City of New York, 1891, Ph.D. Columbia, 1901. He served as a rabbi in New York City (1893...

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft

(Encyclopedia)Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797–1851, English author; daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. In 1814 she fell in love with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, accompanied him abroad, and ...