(Encyclopedia) Keaton, Buster (Joseph Francis Keaton), 1895–1966, American movie actor, b. Piqua, Kans. Considered one of the greatest comic actors in film history, Keaton used his considerable…
(Encyclopedia) Arcaro, Eddie (George Edward Arcaro)Arcaro, Eddieärkârˈō [key], 1916–97, American jockey, b. Cincinnati. In a thirty-year career (1931–62), he won 4,779 races and his mounts won $30,…
(Encyclopedia) Kerr, ClarkKerr, Clarkkûr, kär [key], 1911–2003, American educational reformer, b. Reading, Pa., grad. Swarthmore College (B.A., 1932) and the Univ. of California at Berkeley (Ph.D.,…
(Encyclopedia) LecomptonLecomptonləkŏmpˈtən [key], small town, Douglas co., NE Kans., on the Kansas River between Lawrence and Topeka. The pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution was formulated (Sept.,…
(Encyclopedia) skimmer, common name for certain sea birds resembling the related tern. Skimmers (genus Rhynchops) have long, laterally compressed bills of which the lower mandible is one fourth…
(Encyclopedia) Stockton, Robert Field, 1795–1866, American naval officer, b. Princeton, N.J. He left the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) to enter the U.S. Navy at 16 and served in the War of…
(Encyclopedia) toucantoucant&oomacr;kănˈ, t&oomacr;ˈkän [key], perching bird of the New World tropics, related to the woodpeckers. Toucans vary in size from the jay-sized toucanets to the 24-…
(Encyclopedia) Scruggs, Earl Eugene, 1924–2012, American banjo player, b. Flint Hill, N.C. He developed a distinctive syncopated, three-finger style on the five-string banjo that changed the way it…
(Encyclopedia) Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl, 1758–1834, British public official. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1780 but in 1783 inherited the earldom. In 1794, William Pitt…
(Encyclopedia) Sherbrooke, Robert Lowe, ViscountSherbrooke, Robert Lowe, Viscountshûrˈbr&oobreve;k [key], 1811–92, British statesman. He emigrated (1842) to Australia and achieved recognition as…
