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Crawford, William Harris

(Encyclopedia)Crawford, William Harris, 1772–1834, American statesman, b. Amherst co., Va. (his birthplace is now in Nelson co.). He moved with his parents to South Carolina and later to Georgia. After studying l...

Portsmouth, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth, city and unitary authority (2011 pop. 205,056), S England, on Spithead Channel. The city includes Portsea (naval station), Southsea (residential district and resort), and the old town of P...

Prince

(Encyclopedia)Prince, 1958–2016, American singer and songwriter, b. Minneapolis, Minn., as Prince Rogers Nelson. Biracial, slim, and sexily androgynous, he was an electrifying performer who composed hundreds of s...

Pitt, William, 1759–1806, British statesman

(Encyclopedia)Pitt, William, 1759–1806, British statesman; 2d son of William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham. Trained as a lawyer, he entered Parliament in 1781 and in 1782 at the age of 23 became chancellor of the exc...

Harriman, William Averell

(Encyclopedia)Harriman, William Averell āˈvərəl [key], 1891–1986, American public official; son of E. H. Harriman. Expanding his railroad inheritance, W. Averell Harriman became a banker and shipbuilder and l...

Mbeki, Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa

(Encyclopedia)Mbeki, Govan 1910–2001, anti-apartheid activist, politician, and writer. Mbeki was an influential leader of the African National Congress, the ...

Ramus, Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Ramus, Petrus pyĕr də lä rämāˈ [key], 1515–72, French humanist and philosopher. Attempting to break through Aristotelian and scholastic traditions, Ramus wrote a number of works that became in...

track and field athletics

(Encyclopedia)track and field athletics or athletics, sports of foot racing, hurdling, jumping, vaulting, and throwing varied weights and objects. They are usually separated into two categories: track, the running ...

Murray, Les

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Les (Leslie Allan Murray), 1938–2019, Australia's leading poet of the late 20th and early 21st cent., B.A. Univ. of Sydney, 1969. Son of an impoverished dairy farmer, he grew up in New South...

Ronstadt, Linda

(Encyclopedia)Ronstadt, Linda (Linda Maria Ronstadt), 1946–, American singer, b. Tucson, Ariz. She is known for the clarity and strength of her soprano voice and for the range of song genres in which she performe...