(Encyclopedia) Porteous, JohnPorteous, Johnpôrˈtēəs [key], d. 1736, British soldier. He was captain of the Edinburgh town guard at the execution (1736) of Andrew Wilson, a smuggler. When the crowd,…
(Encyclopedia) San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. Mt. San Antonio, also known as Mt. Baldy (10,080 ft/3,072 m), is the highest…
(Encyclopedia) Houston, David FranklinHouston, David Franklinhy&oomacr;ˈstən [key], 1866–1940, American cabinet officer and educator, b. Monroe, N.C., grad. South Carolina College, 1887, M.A.…
(Encyclopedia) Uncle Sam, name used to designate the U.S. government. The origins of the term are unclear. The term was believed to have arisen in the War of 1812, when it seems to have been used at…
(Encyclopedia) Mingus, CharlesMingus, Charlesmĭngˈgəs [key], 1922–79, American jazz musician, b. Nogales, Ariz. Mingus was a bassist, pianist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist. He was one of the…
(Encyclopedia) Dirksen, Everett McKinleyDirksen, Everett McKinleydûrkˈsən [key], 1896–1969, American politician, b. Pekin, Ill. A veteran of World War I, he held minor offices in Pekin before serving…
(Encyclopedia) Davis, Miles, 1926–91, American jazz musician, b. Alton, Ill. Rising to prominence with the birth of modern jazz in the mid-1940s, when he was a sideman in Charlie Parker's bop quintet…
(Encyclopedia) Smith, Dean Edwards, 1931–2015, American college basketball coach, b. Emporia, Kans. After playing basketball at the Univ. of Kansas (grad. 1953), Smith joined (1954) the Air Force and…
(Encyclopedia) Eve, in genetics, popular term for a theoretical female ancestor of all living people, also known as Mitochondrial Eve. In 1987 biochemist Allan C. Wilson proposed that all living…
