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Rayburn, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Rayburn, Sam (Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn), 1882–1961, U.S. legislator, b. Roane co., Tenn. After his family moved (1887) to Fannin co., Tex., he worked at cotton picking. He worked his way through sc...

pseudonym

(Encyclopedia)pseudonym so͞oˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (pen name). Famous examples in ...

Wain, John

(Encyclopedia)Wain, John, 1925–94, English novelist and critic, b. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, grad. Oxford (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1950). Originally lumped with England's angry young men after the publication of H...

Warton, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Warton, Joseph, 1722–1800, English critic and poet, brother of Thomas Warton. Educated at Winchester and Oxford, he took holy orders in 1744 and served several cures. He spent an unsuccessful tenure...

Brashear, John Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Brashear, John Alfred brəshērˈ [key], 1840–1920, American maker of scientific instruments and educator, b. Brownsville, Pa. A mechanic by trade, he taught himself the art of making lenses and mir...

Surratt, Mary Eugenia

(Encyclopedia)Surratt, Mary Eugenia sərătˈ [key], 1820–65, alleged conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, hanged on July 7, 1865. A widow (her maiden name was Jenkins) who had moved from Surratts...

Sills, Beverly

(Encyclopedia)Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to voice studie...

Sutter, John Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Sutter, John Augustus, 1803–80, American pioneer, b. Kandern, Baden, of Swiss parents. His original name was Johann August Suter. He emigrated to the United States in 1834, went to St. Louis, then t...

Krutch, Joseph Wood

(Encyclopedia)Krutch, Joseph Wood kro͝och [key], 1893–1970, American author, editor, and teacher, b. Knoxville, Tenn., grad. Univ. of Tennessee, 1915, Ph.D. Columbia, 1923. He was on the editorial staff of the N...

Miller, Bode

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Bode (Samuel Bode Miller) bōˈdē [key], 1977–, American skier, b. Easton. N.H. A superb athlete, he joined the U.S. ski team in 1998 and competed in the Olympics for the first time that ye...