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Dos Passos, John Roderigo

(Encyclopedia)Dos Passos, John Roderigo, 1896–1970, American novelist, b. Chicago, grad. Harvard, 1916. He subsequently studied in Spain and served as a World War I ambulance driver in France and Italy. In his fi...

Calles, Plutarco Elías

(Encyclopedia)Calles, Plutarco Elías plo͞otärˈkō ālēˈäs käˈyās [key], 1877–1945, Mexican statesman, president (1924–28). In 1913 he left schoolteaching to fight with Álvaro Obregón and Venustiano ...

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, American jurist

(Encyclopedia)Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1841–1935, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1902–32), b. Boston; son of the writer Oliver Wendell Holmes. He served (1861–64) with distinctio...

Swinburne, Algernon Charles

(Encyclopedia)Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837–1909, English poet and critic. His poetry is noted for its vitality and for the music of its language. After attending Eton (1849–53) and Oxford (1856–60) he se...

Korean War

(Encyclopedia)Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Kor...

Straus

(Encyclopedia)Straus strous [key], family of American merchants, public officials, and philanthropists. Isidor Straus, 1845–1912, b. Rhenish Bavaria, emigrated (1854) with his brothers to the United States in ord...

White House

(Encyclopedia)White House, official name of the executive mansion of the President of the United States. It is on the south side of Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C., facing Lafayette Square. The building, constr...

Lexington

(Encyclopedia)Lexington. 1 City (1990 pop. 225,366), seat of Fayette co., N central Ky., in the heart of the bluegrass region; inc. 1832, made coextensive with Fayette co. 1974. The outstanding center in the United...

Mencken, H. L.

(Encyclopedia)Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis Mencken) mĕngˈkən, mĕnˈ– [key], 1880–1956, American editor, author, and critic, b. Baltimore, studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic. Probably America's most influen...

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