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Wilson, James, American agriculturist and cabinet officer

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, James, 1836–1920, American agriculturist and cabinet officer, b. Ayrshire, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States and settled (1851) in Connecticut, later moving (1855) to Tama co., Iow...

Neuhof, Theodor, Baron von

(Encyclopedia)Neuhof, Theodor, Baron von tāˈōdôrˈ bärōnˈ fən noiˈhōf [key], 1694–1756, German adventurer, b. Metz, France. After a career as a soldier and diplomat, he was persuaded by Corsicans rebell...

Bonaparte, Charles Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Bonaparte, Charles Joseph, 1851–1921, U.S. cabinet official, b. Baltimore; grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte and Elizabeth Patterson. A lawyer and political leader in Baltimore, he identified himself w...

Wister, Owen

(Encyclopedia)Wister, Owen wĭsˈtər [key], 1860–1938, American author, b. Philadelphia, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1882; LL.B., 1888). Trips to the West for his health gave him material for his short stories and for ...

Binet, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Binet, Alfred älfrĕdˈ bēnāˈ [key], 1857–1911, French psychologist. From 1894 he was director of the psychology laboratory at the Sorbonne. He is known for his research and innovation in testin...

Rassam, Hormuzd

(Encyclopedia)Rassam, Hormuzd hôrmo͝ozdˈ räsämˈ [key], 1826–1910, Turkish archaeologist. He assisted Sir Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh in 1845–47 and 1849–51, studying at Oxford in the years between. W...

Connecticut Wits

(Encyclopedia)Connecticut Wits or Hartford Wits, an informal association of Yale students and rectors formed in the late 18th cent. At first they were devoted to the modernization of the Yale curriculum and declari...

governor, in government

(Encyclopedia)governor, chief executive of a dependent or component unit in a political system. In the United States, a governor is the chief executive of each state and is elected by the people of the state. In th...

Matthiessen, F. O.

(Encyclopedia)Matthiessen, F. O. (Francis Otto Matthiessen) măthˈĭsĕn [key], 1902–50, American critic, b. Pasadena, Calif., grad. Yale Univ., 1923, B.Litt., Oxford, 1925, Ph.D., Harvard, 1927. A Rhodes schola...

Lyndhurst, John Singleton Copley, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Lyndhurst, John Singleton Copley, Baron, 1772–1863, British jurist, b. Boston, Mass.; son of John Singleton Copley, the American painter. Educated in England, he was called to the bar in 1804. He at...