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National Institutes of Health

(Encyclopedia)National Institutes of Health (NIH), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service, with headquarters in Bethesda, Md. It was established initially in 1887 as a laboratory in the U.S. Marine Hospital on St...

Lawrence, William Beach

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, William Beach, 1800–1881, American political leader and jurist, b. New York City. He was appointed secretary of the legation in Great Britain in 1826 and was made (1827) chargé d'affaires...

Reno, Jesse Lee

(Encyclopedia)Reno, Jesse Lee rēˈnō [key], 1823–62, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Wheeling, Va. (now W.Va.). He was twice brevetted for his service in the Mexican War. In the Civil War, Reno was ...

Romney, George Wilcken

(Encyclopedia)Romney, George Wilcken rŏmˈnē [key], 1907–95, U.S. public official, b. Mexico, of American parents. He worked (1920–30) as a Senate staff tariff specialist and then entered industry. He became ...

Veterans of Foreign Wars

(Encyclopedia)Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), organization created (1899) at Columbus, Ohio, by veterans of the Spanish-American War. It received a charter from Congress in 1936. The organization later admitted vet...

Tarde, Gabriel de

(Encyclopedia)Tarde, Gabriel de gäbrēĕlˈ də tärd [key], 1843–1904, French sociologist and criminologist. During his years of public service as a magistrate, he became interested in the psychosocial bases of...

Cunha, Euclides da

(Encyclopedia)Cunha, Euclides da āˌo͝oklēˈdĭsh dä ko͞oˈnyə [key], 1866–1909, Brazilian writer. After his military service, Cunha became a civil engineer and a journalist. He wrote several historical wor...

Cunningham, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Sir Alexander, 1814–93, English archaeologist and army engineer; son of Allan Cunningham. He retired (1861) as a major general after 30 years of service with the Bengal engineers and the...

Goltz, Colmar, Freiherr von der

(Encyclopedia)Goltz, Colmar, Freiherr von der kôlˈmär frīˈhĕr fən dər gôlts [key], 1843–1916, Prussian field marshal and military historian. A soldier, he served in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the...

Gooch, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Gooch, Sir William go͞och [key], 1681–1751, colonial governor of Virginia (1727–49), b. Yarmouth, England. He came to Virginia after distinguished service with the British army. Nominally, Gooch ...