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DiMaggio, Joe

(Encyclopedia) DiMaggio, Joe (Joseph Paul DiMaggio)DiMaggio, Joedĭmăjˈēōˌ, –mäjˈēōˌ [key], 1914–99, American baseball player, b. Martinez, Calif. One of the most charismatic of 20th-century sports…

Domesday Book

(Encyclopedia) Domesday BookDomesday Bookd&oomacr;mzˈdā [key], record of a general census of England made (1085–86) by order of William I (William the Conqueror). The survey ascertained the…

Copernican system

(Encyclopedia) Copernican system, first modern European theory of planetary motion that was heliocentric, i.e., that placed the sun motionless at the center of the solar system with all the planets,…

Evans, Bill

(Encyclopedia) Evans, Bill, 1929-80, American jazz pianist and composer, b. Plainfield, N.J., as William John Evans, Southeastern Louisiana Univ. (B.…

Favre, Brett

(Encyclopedia) Favre, Brett (Brett Lorenzo Favre)Favre, Brettfärv [key], 1969–, American football player, b. Gulfport, Miss. As starting quarterback at the Univ. of Southern Mississippi he led the…

Elijah

(Encyclopedia) ElijahElijahēlīˈjə [key] or EliasElijahēlīˈəs [key] [both: Heb.,=Yahweh is God], fl. c.875 b.c., Hebrew prophet in the reign of King Ahab. He is one of the outstanding figures of the…

Mercer, Johnny

(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer)Mercer, Johnnymûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most…

National Security Agency

(Encyclopedia) National Security Agency (NSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Founded by presidential order in 1952, its primary functions are to collect and analyze…

LL Cool J

(Encyclopedia) LL Cool J , 1968- , African-American rapper and actor, b. Queens, N.Y., as James Todd Smith. Smith had a tragic upbringing, with his…

Paterno, Joe

(Encyclopedia) Paterno, Joe (Joseph Vincent Paterno)Paterno, Joepətûrˈnō [key], 1926–2012, American football coach, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. A former quarterback at Brown Univ., he joined (1950) the…