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Barney, Joshua

(Encyclopedia)Barney, Joshua bärˈnē [key], 1759–1818, American naval officer and privateer, b. Baltimore. He entered the navy early in the American Revolution, engaged in many feats of daring, and was captured...

Rostand, Edmond

(Encyclopedia)Rostand, Edmond ĕdmôNˈ rôstäNˈ [key], 1868–1918, French poet and dramatist. In 1890 appeared his first volume of verse, Les Musardises. His first plays were light, fanciful, and charmingly poe...

Beckham, David

(Encyclopedia)Beckham, David (David Robert Joseph Beckham), 1975–, English soccer player known especially for the power and accuracy of his free kicks. After beginning to play on the Manchester United youth squad...

Vives, Juan Luis

(Encyclopedia)Vives, Juan Luis hwän lo͞oēsˈ vēˈvās [key], 1492–1540, Spanish humanist and philosopher; friend of Erasmus. At the invitation of King Henry VIII he went to England, where he lectured at Oxfor...

Carpentier, Alejo

(Encyclopedia)Carpentier, Alejo älāˈhō kärpĕntyārˈ [key], 1904–80, Cuban novelist and musicologist. As a political exile in Paris between 1928 and 1939, Carpentier was strongly influenced by Antonin Artau...

Dickinson, John

(Encyclopedia)Dickinson, John, 1732–1808, American patriot and statesman, b. Talbot co., Md. After studying law in Philadelphia and in London at the Middle Temple, he developed a highly successful practice in Phi...

Stamp Act

(Encyclopedia)Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamp...

Weed, Thurlow

(Encyclopedia)Weed, Thurlow thûrˈlō [key], 1797–1882, American journalist and political leader, b. Cairo, N.Y. After working on various newspapers in W New York, Weed joined the Rochester Telegraph and was inf...

Lee, Richard Henry

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Richard Henry, 1732–94, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, and William Lee. He served in the house of burgesses (1758...

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