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Cushman, Pauline

(Encyclopedia)Cushman, Pauline, 1835–93, Union spy in the Civil War, b. New Orleans. She became an actress at 18 in New York City. In 1863 she was banished to Confederate lines as a supposed Southern sympathizer,...

Angel Island

(Encyclopedia)Angel Island, largest island in San Francisco Bay, W Calif. Explored by the Spanish in 1775, it came under U.S. control in 1851. The U.S. army used the island as a base from 1863 to 1946, and from 195...

Goeppert-Mayer, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Goeppert-Mayer, Maria, 1906–72, German-American nuclear physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Göttingen, 1930. She was a researcher at Johns Hopkins (1931–39), Columbia (1939–46), Argonne National Laborato...

Florissant

(Encyclopedia)Florissant flôrˈĭsənt, flŏˈ– [key], city (2020 pop. 50,562), St. Louis co., E...

Maybeck, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Maybeck, Bernard, 1862–1957, American architect, b. New York City. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, he became one of the leading architects in California. From the 1890s to the 19...

Mill Valley

(Encyclopedia)Mill Valley, city (1990 pop. 13,038), Marin co., W Calif., a suburb on Richardson Bay, an inlet of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1900. It is a residential community set in heavily timbered hills and valleys...

mint, in finance

(Encyclopedia)mint, place where legal coinage is manufactured. The name is derived from the temple of Juno Moneta, Rome, where silver coins were made as early as 269 b.c. Mints existed earlier elsewhere, as in Lydi...

Menlo Park

(Encyclopedia)Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and the SLAC National Acc...

Newlands, Francis Griffith

(Encyclopedia)Newlands, Francis Griffith, 1848–1917, American legislator, b. Natchez, Miss. After practicing law in San Francisco from 1870, he moved (1888) to Nevada. He became well known for his interest in irr...

Palm Springs

(Encyclopedia)Palm Springs, city (1990 pop. 40,181), Riverside co., S Calif.; founded 1876, inc. 1938. It is a verdant desert oasis and a resort with classic mid-20th cent. architecture (known as Mid-Century Modern...