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American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)American Revolution, 1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called th...

Winthrop, John, 1714–79, American scientist

(Encyclopedia)Winthrop, John, 1714–79, American scientist, b. Boston, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1732. Because of his study of earthquakes, he is sometimes called the founder of seismology. He made scientific observat...

Abel, John Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Abel, John Jacob, 1857–1938, American pharmacologist, b. Cleveland, grad. Univ. of Michigan, 1883, M.D. Univ. of Strasbourg, 1888. Professor of pharmacology (1893–1932) and director of the laborat...

Guare, John

(Encyclopedia)Guare, John gwâr [key], 1938–, American playwright, b. New York City, B.A. Georgetown, 1960, M.F.A. Yale, 1963. Guare's freewheeling, satirical plays are the antithesis of “kitchen sink” natura...

Hurt, John

(Encyclopedia)Hurt, John (Sir John Vincent Hurt), 1940–2017, English actor, b. Chesterfield, Derbyshire, grad. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1962). Known for his sympathetic portrayal of unusual, often unappeali...

Davis, James John

(Encyclopedia)Davis, James John, 1873–1947, American public official, b. Wales. After emigrating (1881) to the United States, he worked as a puddler in ironworks in Pennsylvania and, moving to Elwood, Ind., becam...

Powell, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Powell, John Wesley, 1834–1902, American geologist and ethnologist, b. Mt. Morris (now part of New York City). The family moved to Illinois, where Powell joined the Natural History Society, making c...

Heisman, John William

(Encyclopedia)Heisman, John William hīsˈmən [key], 1869–1936, American football coach, b. Cleveland. He studied and played football at Brown (1887–89) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1890–91). He coached fo...

DeLorean, John Zachary

(Encyclopedia)DeLorean, John Zachary, 1925–2005, American automobile executive and entrepeneur, b. Detroit. Son of a Ford Motor Co. worker, he attended the Lawrence Institute of Technology (B.S. 1948) and later e...

Copley, John Singleton, American portrait painter

(Encyclopedia)Copley, John Singleton kŏpˈlē [key], 1738–1815, American portrait painter, b. Boston. Copley is considered the greatest of the American old masters. He studied with his stepfather, Peter Pelham, ...