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Bassett, John Spencer

(Encyclopedia)Bassett, John Spencer, 1867–1928, American historian, b. Tarboro, N.C. He was professor of history at Trinity College (now Duke Univ.) from 1893 to 1906 and then at Smith from 1906 to 1928. Bassett ...

Pan-American Union

(Encyclopedia)Pan-American Union, former name for the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS). It was founded (1889–90) at the first of the modern Inter-American Conferences (see Pan-Amer...

Ellsworth, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745–1807, American political leader, 3d chief justice of the United States (1796–1800), b. Windsor, Conn. A Hartford lawyer, he was (1778–83) a member of the Continental Cong...

Long, John Luther

(Encyclopedia)Long, John Luther, 1861–1927, American playwright, b. Hanover, Pa. In 1900, in collaboration with David Belasco, he dramatized his short story “Madame Butterfly” (1897), which Puccini later made...

Johnson, Guy

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Guy, c.1740–1788, Loyalist leader in colonial New York, b. Ireland. He emigrated to America as a boy and married (1763) a daughter of Sir William Johnson, whom he succeeded as superintenden...

Shamir, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Shamir shāˈmĭr [key], in the Bible. 1 In 1 Chronicles, Levite serving in the Temple. 2 In Joshua, unidentified town, S Palestine. 3 In Judges, unidentified place, E Palestine, home of the judge Tol...

Tooke, John Horne

(Encyclopedia)Tooke, John Horne, 1736–1812, English radical politician and philologist. Born John Horne, he adopted the name Tooke in 1782 after being designated heir to the estate of a rich friend, William Tooke...

Flannagan, John Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Flannagan, John Bernard flănˈəgən [key], 1895–1942, American sculptor, b. Fargo, N.Dak., studied at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. His early life was a bitter struggle against poverty. Too p...

Pershing, John Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Pershing, John Joseph pûrˈshĭng [key], 1860–1948, American army officer and commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, b. Linn co., Mo. After graduating (1886) from We...

Seth, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Seth, in the Bible, son of Adam and Eve, father of Enosh. In the chronology in the Gospel of St. Luke, Seth is an ancestor of Jesus. The Nag Hammadi codices preserve revelatory discourses ascribed to ...