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Nash, John

(Encyclopedia)Nash, John, 1752–1835, English architect; pupil of Sir Robert Taylor. After enjoying an extensive practice in Wales, he began to work c.1792 in London. His capacities were greatest in town planning,...

Mott, Sir Nevill

(Encyclopedia)Mott, Sir Nevill, 1905–96, British physicist. A professor at the Univ. of Bristol (1933–54) and the Univ. of Cambridge (1954–71), Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for a lifetime of re...

Gonzales, Pancho

(Encyclopedia)Gonzales, Pancho (Richard Alonzo Gonzales) gŏnzălˈĭs [key], 1928–95, American tennis player, b. Los Angeles, of Mexican parentage. After two straight wins in both the U.S. lawn and clay court si...

Jamal, Ahmad

(Encyclopedia)Jamal, Ahmad, 1930–, American jazz pianist, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. He started playing the piano at the age of three and became interested in jazz during the bop era. He began playing professionally at 1...

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

(Encyclopedia)Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, case decided in 1978 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choos...

Bowie, James

(Encyclopedia)Bowie, James bo͞oˈē, bōˈē [key], c.1796–1836, American frontiersman, b. Logan co., Ky. With his brother, Rezin, he engaged in land speculation in Louisiana and Arkansas. In Texas from 1828, Bo...

Boyd, Belle

(Encyclopedia)Boyd, Belle, 1844–1900, Confederate spy in the Civil War, b. Martinsburg, Va. (now W.Va.). Operating (probably unofficially) in Martinsburg and Front Royal, she provided Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jacks...

Mitchell, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Maria, 1818–89, American astronomer and educator, b. Nantucket, Mass. Mitchell taught school in Nantucket, and later became a librarian. On Oct. 1, 1847, Mitchell discovered a comet (1847 ...

Antirent War

(Encyclopedia)Antirent War, in U.S. history, tenant uprising in New York state. When Stephen Van Rensselaer, owner of Rensselaerswyck, died in 1839, his heirs attempted to collect unpaid rents. Tenants on the estat...

Hunkers

(Encyclopedia)Hunkers, conservative faction of the Democratic party in New York state in the 1840s, so named because they were supposed to “hanker” or “hunker” after office. In opposition to them stood the ...