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Acosta, Uriel

(Encyclopedia)Acosta, Uriel dä kōˈstä [key], c.1585–1640, Jewish rationalist, b. Oporto, Portugal. His original name was Gabriel da Costa, and his family had been converted to Roman Catholicism. When he reach...

Adelson, Sheldon Gary

(Encyclopedia) Adelson, Sheldon Gary, 1933-2021, American casino owner and political donor, b. Boston, MA. Adelson was born to poor, Jewish, Eastern European immigrants. After attending, but not comple...

Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

Hill, Daniel Harvey

(Encyclopedia)Hill, Daniel Harvey, 1821–89, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. York District, S.C. He served in the Mexican War but resigned from the army in 1849. He was professor of mathematics a...

Greeley, Horace

(Encyclopedia)Greeley, Horace, 1811–72, American newspaper editor, founder of the New York Tribune, b. Amherst, N.H. Greeley supported Ulysses S. Grant during the first years of his administration but came to r...

Pickett, George Edward

(Encyclopedia)Pickett, George Edward, 1825–75, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Richmond, Va. After distinguishing himself in the Mexican War (especially at Chapultepec), Pickett served on the Te...

Ringling Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Ringling Brothers, seven brothers, sons of German-born August Rüngeling, who established an American circus empire. Albert C. (1852–1916), Otto (1858–1911), Alfred T. (1861–1919), Charles Edwar...

debt

(Encyclopedia)debt, obligation in services, money, or goods owed by one party, the debtor, to another, the creditor. When contested, debts are collected by a civil suit upon which the judge renders a judgment, and ...

Wriston, Walter Bigelow

(Encyclopedia)Wriston, Walter Bigelow, 1919–2005, American banker, b. Middletown, Conn., grad. Wesleyan (B.A., 1941); Fletcher School, Tufts Univ. (M.A., 1942). Widely considered the most important and influentia...

Revelation

(Encyclopedia)Revelation or Apocalypse əpŏkˈəlĭps [key], the last book of the New Testament. It was written c.a.d. 95 on Patmos Island off the coast of Asia Minor by an exile named John, in the wake of local p...