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Lafayette Escadrille

(Encyclopedia)Lafayette Escadrille ĕskədrĭlˈ [key], small group of American volunteer aviators in World War I, created (Apr., 1916) as Escadrille Américaine in the French air service. It was renamed the Lafaye...

Keaton, Buster

(Encyclopedia)Keaton, Buster (Joseph Francis Keaton), 1895–1966, American movie actor, b. Piqua, Kans. Considered one of the greatest comic actors in film history, Keaton used his considerable acrobatic skills, w...

Maura y Montaner, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Maura y Montaner, Antonio äntōˈnyō môrˈä ē mōnˈtänār [key], 1853–1925, Spanish politician. He entered the Cortes in 1881 as a liberal but later joined the Conservative party. As premier ...

Hamilton, Emma, Lady

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 1765?–1815, mistress of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. Born Emma Lyon, she became the mistress of Charles Greville, then of Sir William Hamilton, ambassador to Naples, ...

Ilf, Ilya Arnoldovich

(Encyclopedia)Ilf, Ilya Arnoldovich ēlyäˈ ərnôlˈdəvĭch ēlf [key], 1897–1937, Russian humorist whose original name was Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg. In all his writing he collaborated with Yevgeny Petrovi...

Dean, James

(Encyclopedia)Dean, James (James Byron Dean), 1931–55, American film actor, b. Marion, Ind. After a few stage and television roles, Dean was chosen to play the moody, rebellious son in the film East of Eden (1953...

Fink, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Fink, Mike, 1770?–1823?, American border hero, whose exploits have been so elaborated in legend that the actual facts of his life are difficult to discover. He was born probably at the frontier post...

Barry, John

(Encyclopedia)Barry, John, 1745–1803, U.S. naval officer in the American Revolution, b. Co. Wexford, Ireland. He went as a youth to Philadelphia, where he was a trader and a shipmaster. In the Revolution he comma...

Balchen, Bernt

(Encyclopedia)Balchen, Bernt bârnt bälˈkən [key], 1899–1973, Norwegian-American aviator. He headed one of the search expeditions for Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1925 and was a member of their 1926 expedition to...

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 ...