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Confederation, Articles of

(Encyclopedia)Confederation, Articles of, in U.S. history, ratified in 1781 and superseded by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The imperative need for unity among the new states created by the America...

Maurice, duke and elector of Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Maurice, 1521–53, duke (1541–47) and elector (1547–53) of Saxony. A member of the Albertine branch of the ruling house of Saxony, he became duke of Albertine Saxony during the Protestant Reforma...

Speaker, Tris

(Encyclopedia)Speaker, Tris (Tristram Speaker), 1888–1958, American baseball player, b. Hubbard, Tex. He started (1906) in organized baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Cleburne team of the North Texas Leag...

Leven, Alexander Leslie, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Leven, Alexander Leslie, 1st earl of lĕvˈən [key], 1580?–1661, Scottish general. He served in the Swedish army some 30 years, being knighted by Gustavus II and fighting in the Thirty Years War. R...

Alexander III, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Alexander III, 1845–94, czar of Russia (1881–94), son and successor of Alexander II. Factors that contributed to Alexander's reactionary policies included his father's assassination, his limited i...

Stengel, Casey

(Encyclopedia)Stengel, Casey (Charles Dillon Stengel), 1891–1975, American baseball player and manager, b. Kansas City, Mo. Stengel began playing professional baseball in 1910. From 1912 to 1925 he played with th...

Oecolampadius, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Oecolampadius, Johannes yōhänˈəs ökōlämpäˈdēo͝os, ĕkˌəlămpāˈdēəs [key], 1482–1531, German Protestant reformer, associate of Huldreich Zwingli in the Reformation in Switzerland. He...

Hess, Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Hess, Rudolf, 1894–1987, German National Socialist leader, b. Alexandria, Egypt; son of a German merchant. In 1920 he became an ardent follower of Adolf Hitler and after the Munich “beer-hall puts...

McCarthy, Joseph Vincent

(Encyclopedia)McCarthy, Joseph Vincent, 1887–1978, American baseball manager, b. Philadelphia. A manager in the American Association and later (1926–30) in the National League, “Marse Joe,” as he was known,...

John of Austria, 1545–78, Spanish admiral and general

(Encyclopedia)John of Austria, 1545–78, Spanish admiral and general; illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He was acknowledged in his father's will and was recognized by his half-brother, Philip II of...