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Wovoka

(Encyclopedia)Wovoka wōvōˈkə [key], c.1858–1932, Paiute, prophet of a messianic religion sometimes called the Ghost Dance religion. Also known as Jack Wilson, he was influenced by his father (a mystic) as wel...

Washington, Denzel

(Encyclopedia) Washington, Denzel (Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.), 1954- , African-American actor, b. Mount Vernon, N.Y., Fordham Univ. (B.A., 1977). Washington’s fa...

Lloyd George, David, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor

(Encyclopedia)Lloyd George, David, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor do͞oˈēvôr [key], 1863–1945, British statesman, of Welsh extraction. Lloyd George was a brilliantly eloquent, forceful, and creative statesman...

Nichols, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Nichols, Mike, 1931–2014, American actor and director, b. Berlin, Germany, as Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky. His family immigrated to the United States in ...

Latrobe, Benjamin Henry

(Encyclopedia)Latrobe, Benjamin Henry (Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe) lətrōbˈ [key], 1764–1820, American architect, b. Yorkshire, England. He is considered the first professional architect in the United State...

Gordy, Berry, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Gordy, Berry, Jr., 1929–, African-American music-industry executive, b. Detroit. After stints in the army and as a professional boxer, Gordy opened a ...

Smithsonian Institution

(Encyclopedia)Smithsonian Institution, research and education center, mainly at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under the terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the Unit...

Wood, Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Wood, Leonard, 1860–1927, American general and administrator, b. Winchester, N.H. After practicing medicine briefly in Boston, he entered the army in 1885 and was made an assistant surgeon; in 1891 ...

Mobile, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Mobile mōbēlˈ, mōˈbēlˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 196,278), seat of Mobile co., SW Ala., at the head of Mobile Bay and at the mouth of the Mobile River; inc. 1814. Lying on one of the continent's g...

Shostakovich, Dmitri

(Encyclopedia)Shostakovich, Dmitri dyĭmēˈtrē shŏstŏkôˈvĭch [key], 1906–75, Russian composer, b. St. Petersburg. Shostakovich studied at the Leningrad Conservatory (1919–25). The early success of his Fi...