actressBorn: 4/16/1954Birthplace: New York City After a few roles on television, she got her first leading role in Barry Levinson's Diner (1982), and kept busy in a variety of supporting roles in…
(Encyclopedia) Dow, Neal, 1804–97, American prohibitionist, b. Portland, Maine. He helped organize the Maine Temperance Union in 1838 and prepared (1851) the famous “Maine Law,” which superseded the…
(Encyclopedia) billiards, any one of a number of games played with a tapered, leather-tipped stick called a cue and various numbers of balls on a rectangular, cloth-covered slate table with raised…
(John Blythe)actorBorn: 2/15/1882Birthplace: Philadelphia Film and stage actor known for his acting skills and tempestuous personal life. In 1922 and 1923, he gave 101 performances as Hamlet. His…
(Encyclopedia) Lindsey, Benjamin Barr (Ben Lindsey), 1869–1943, American judge and reformer, b. Jackson, Tenn. As judge of the juvenile court of Denver from 1900 to 1927, he founded the American…
(Encyclopedia) Barrymore, Anglo-American family of actors.
Lionel and Ethel's younger brother, John Barrymore,John Barrymore, 1882–1942, b. Philadelphia, tried his hand at painting and cartooning…
(Encyclopedia) Washington, Harold Lee, 1922–87, African-American politician, b. Chicago. A lawyer, he entered Illinois state government in 1965 as a Democratic representative, becoming state senator…
(Encyclopedia) AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to “enriching the experience of aging”; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy…
(Encyclopedia) Collins, Anthony, 1676–1729, English theologian; a friend of John Locke. He set forth the position of the deists and defended the cause of rational theology. His Discourse of Free…
(Encyclopedia) Sweet, Henry, 1845–1912, English philologist and phonetician. An authority on Anglo-Saxon and the history of the English language, Sweet was also a pioneer in modern scientific…
