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Harrison, Benjamin, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Benjamin, 1726?–1791, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Charles City co., Va. As a member (1749–75) of the house of burgesses, he...

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, American author and physician

(Encyclopedia)Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809–94, American author and physician, b. Cambridge, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1829; M.D., 1836); father of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. He began his medical career as a gen...

transcendentalism , American literary and philosophical movement

(Encyclopedia)transcendentalism trănˌsĕndĕnˈtəlĭzəm [key] [Lat.,=overpassing], in literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to 1860. It originated among ...

Gulick, Luther Halsey, 1892–1992, American public administrator and educator

(Encyclopedia)Gulick, Luther Halsey, 1892–1992, American public administrator and educator, b. Osaka, Japan, grad. Oberlin College, 1914. He studied at the Training School for Public Service, New York and at Colu...

fur trade

(Encyclopedia)fur trade, in American history. Trade in animal skins and pelts had gone on since antiquity, but reached its height in the wilderness of North America from the 17th to the early 19th cent. The demand ...

National Museum of African American History and Culture

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution. Devoted to the collection, presentation, and preservation of the culture of Africa...

Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765–1848, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765–1848, American political leader, b. Boston; nephew of James Otis. He practiced law in Boston, and was elected (1795) to the Massachusetts legislature. A staunch Federalist,...

Eskimo

(Encyclopedia)Eskimo ĕsˈkəmō [key], a general term used to refer to a number of groups inhabiting the coastline from the Bering Sea to Greenland and the Chukchi Peninsula in NE Siberia. A number of distinct gro...

Bradford, William, 1722–91, American Revolutionary printer and patriot

(Encyclopedia)Bradford, William, 1722–91, American Revolutionary printer and patriot; grandson of William Bradford (1663–1752). He learned printing from his uncle, Andrew Bradford, in Philadelphia, and in 1742 ...

Fanning, Edmund, 1769–1841, American trader and explorer

(Encyclopedia)Fanning, Edmund, 1769–1841, American trader, explorer, and promoter of trade and exploration in the South Seas, b. Stonington, Conn. At the age of 14 he went to sea. In command of a trading vessel, ...