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Sims, James Marion

(Encyclopedia)Sims, James Marion, 1813–83, American gynecologist and surgeon, b. Lancaster co., S.C., M.D. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 1835. He initially practiced in Mt. Meigs and Montgomery, in Ala...

Byrne, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Byrne, Jane, 1934–2014, American politician, b. Chicago as Margaret Jane Burke. She was Chicago's consumer sales commissioner (1968–77) under Mayor Richard Daley before she became the first woman ...

Borden, Lizzie Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Borden, Lizzie Andrew, 1860–1927, American woman accused of killing her father and her step-mother, b. Fall River, Mass. The elder Bordens were hacked to death with an ax on Aug. 4, 1892. Although L...

Ledru-Rollin, Alexandre Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Ledru-Rollin, Alexandre Auguste älĕksäNˈdrə ôgüstˈ lədrüˈ-rôlăNˈ [key], 1807–74, French politician. A lawyer, he first became known as a radical opponent to the accession (1830) of Lou...

Laforet, Carmen

(Encyclopedia)Laforet, Carmen (Carmen Laforet Díaz) kärˈmān läfōrĕtˈ [key], 1921–2004, Spanish writer, b. Barcelona. Her first novel, Nada (1945, tr. Andrea 1964), which describes the spiritual desolation...

Thayer, Abbott Handerson

(Encyclopedia)Thayer, Abbott Handerson thâr [key], 1849–1921, American painter, b. Boston, studied in Paris with Gérôme and at the École des Beaux-Arts. Known as a painter of animals and of landscapes, he was...

Chinchilla Miranda, Laura

(Encyclopedia)Chinchilla Miranda, Laura, 1959–, Costa Rican politian, president of Costa Rica (2010–). Before entering politics she worked as a consultant for international agencies in Latin America and Africa....

Cleland, John

(Encyclopedia)Cleland, John, 1709–87, English novelist. His Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1750), commonly known as Fanny Hill, was an immediate popular success; the novel's notoriety led to a number of official...

Ormerod, Eleanor Anne

(Encyclopedia)Ormerod, Eleanor Anne ôrˈmərŏd [key], 1828–1901, English economic entomologist. She aided the Royal Horticultural Society in forming a collection of insect farm pests and was awarded the Flora m...

Pascin, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Pascin, Jules zhül päskăNˈ [key], 1885–1930, American painter, b. Bulgaria. Born Julius Pincas, he moved to Paris in 1905. He acquired American citizenship in 1914. Essentially a draftsman, belo...