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Dirksen, Everett McKinley

(Encyclopedia)Dirksen, Everett McKinley dûrkˈsən [key], 1896–1969, American politician, b. Pekin, Ill. A veteran of World War I, he held minor offices in Pekin before serving in the U.S. House of Representativ...

dower

(Encyclopedia)dower, that portion of a deceased husband's real property that a widow is legally entitled to use during her lifetime to support herself and their children. A wife may claim the dower if her husband d...

Locofocos

(Encyclopedia)Locofocos lōˌkōfōˈkōz [key], name given in derision to the members of a faction that split off from the Democratic party in New York in 1835. Tension had been growing between radical Democrats, ...

Rustin, Bayard

(Encyclopedia)Rustin, Bayard, 1910–87, African-American civil-rights leader, b. West Chester, Pa. He attended three colleges but did not obtain a degree. A Quaker, he was imprisoned as a conscientious objector fo...

bionics

(Encyclopedia)bionics, the study of living systems with the intention of applying their principles to the design of engineering systems. Drawing on interdisciplinary research in the mechanical and life sciences, bi...

Falls Church

(Encyclopedia)Falls Church, independent city (2020 pop. 14,917), NE Va., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; inc. as a town 1875, as a city 1948. There is diver...

federalism

(Encyclopedia)federalism. 1 In political science, see federal government. 2 In U.S. history, see states' rights. ...

Bedford, Gunning, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bedford, Gunning, Jr., 1747–1812, American political leader, b. Philadelphia. Settling in Delaware, Bedford became a member of the local legislature, attorney general (1784–89), and a delegate to ...

Lefkowitz, Robert Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Lefkowitz, Robert Joseph, 1943–, American physician, b. New York City, M.D. Columbia, 1966. Since 1973 Lefkowitz has been a professor at Duke Univ.; he was appointed a Howard Hughes Medical Institut...

Maslow, Abraham Harold

(Encyclopedia)Maslow, Abraham Harold măzˈlō [key], 1908–70, American psychologist, b. Brooklyn, New York, Ph.D. Univ. of Wisconsin (1934). He taught at Brooklyn College from 1937, then became head of the psych...