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Black English

(Encyclopedia)Black English, distinctive dialect spoken at times by as many as 80% to 90% of African Americans; also called ebonics [from ebony and phonics]. Long considered merely substandard English, it is in fac...

Poulenc, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Poulenc, Francis fräNsēsˈ po͞olăNkˈ [key], 1899–1963, French composer and pianist. He was one of Les Six, a group of French composers who subscribed to the aesthetic ideals of Erik Satie, whos...

English Bazar

(Encyclopedia)English Bazar băzärˈ [key], town, West Bengal state, E central India, on the Mahananda River. ...

Lewis, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Francis, 1713–1802?, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Llandaff, Wales. As clothing contractor for British troops during the French an...

Logan, James, American colonial statesman and scholar

(Encyclopedia)Logan, James, 1674–1751, American colonial statesman and scholar, b. Ireland. While engaged in the shipping trade, Logan met William Penn and became (1699) his secretary. He emigrated to Philadelphi...

English sparrow

(Encyclopedia)English sparrow or house sparrow, small bird, Passer domesticus, common throughout most of the world. English sparrows are 4 to 7 in. (10–18 cm) long, with short, stout bills. The male is brown with...

Lowell, Francis Cabot

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, Francis Cabot, 1775–1817, pioneer American cotton manufacturer, b. Newburyport, Mass.; son of John Lowell (1743–1802). A merchant in Boston, he traveled (1810) to England, where he studied...

Marion, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Marion, Francis mârˈēən [key], c.1732–1795, American Revolutionary soldier, known as the Swamp Fox, b. near Georgetown, S.C. He was a planter and Indian fighter before joining (1775) William Mou...

Solon, Athenian statesman

(Encyclopedia)Solon sōˈlən [key], c.639–c.559 b.c., Athenian statesman, lawgiver, and reformer. He was also a poet, and some of his patriotic verse in the Ionic dialect is extant. At some time (perhaps c.600 b...

Asbury, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Asbury, Francis ăzˈbərē, –bĕ– [key], 1745–1816, Methodist bishop in America, b. England. The Wesleyan conference in London sent him in 1771 as a missionary to America, where he promoted the...