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Whitney Museum of American Art

(Encyclopedia)Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney with a core group of 700 artworks, many from her own collection. The museum was an outgrowth of the Whi...

Williams, William, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Williams, William, 1731–1811, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Lebanon, Conn. He served in the French and Indian War and held many public of...

Biddle, Nicholas, American naval officer

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, Nicholas, 1750–78, American naval officer, b. Philadelphia. Biddle left the British navy in 1773. In the American Revolution he became captain in the patriot navy and daringly raided British...

Yates, Richard, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Yates, Richard, 1815–73, American political leader, b. Warsaw, Ky. He studied law and became a lawyer and Whig politician in Jacksonville, Ill. A state legislator (1842–46, 1848–50) and U.S. Con...

Yates, Richard, American fiction writer

(Encyclopedia)Yates, Richard, 1926–92, American fiction writer, b. Yonkers, N.Y. A subtle and painstaking literary craftsman who has often been considered a “writers' writer,” Yates frequently chronicles the ...

Smith, James, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Smith, James, c.1719–1806, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Ireland. He settled in Pennsylvania in his youth and practiced law at York. He s...

Petrillo, James Caesar

(Encyclopedia)Petrillo, James Caesar pētrĭlˈō, pĭ– [key], 1892–1984, American labor leader, president of the American Federation of Musicians (1940–58), b. Chicago. In 1915 he became president of the Ame...

Adams, Herbert Baxter

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Herbert Baxter, 1850–1901, American historian, b. Shutesbury, near Amherst, Mass. In 1876, the year he received his doctorate at Heidelberg, he became one of the original faculty of Johns Hop...

Rhode Island, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Rhode Island, smallest state in the United States, located in New England; bounded by Massachusetts (N and E), the Atlantic Ocean (S), and Connecticut (W). Until well into the 20th cent. ...

Tohono O'Odham

(Encyclopedia)Tohono O'Odham păpˈəgōˌ, päˈ– [key], Native North Americans speaking a language that belongs to the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and...