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Baraka, Amiri

(Encyclopedia)Baraka, Amiri amērē bəräˈkə [key], 1934–2014, American poet, playwright, and political activist, b. Newark, N.J., as Everett LeRoy Jones, studied at Rutgers Univ., Howard Univ. In college he a...

Eiseley, Loren Corey

(Encyclopedia)Eiseley, Loren Corey īzˈlē [key], 1907–77, American anthropologist, b. Lincoln, Nebr. He taught anthropology at the Univ. of Kansas (1937–44), was chair of sociology and anthropology at Oberlin...

Lawrie, Lee

(Encyclopedia)Lawrie, Lee lōˈrē [key], 1877–1963, American sculptor, b. Germany. Brought to America as an infant, he studied with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Philip Martiny. Lawrie specialized in architectural ...

Lovejoy, Owen

(Encyclopedia)Lovejoy, Owen, 1811–64, American abolitionist, b. Albion, Maine, educated at Bowdoin College. He witnessed the killing of his brother Elijah P. Lovejoy, under whom he had studied for the ministry. T...

Fessenden, William Pitt

(Encyclopedia)Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806–69, American politician, b. Boscawen, N.H. Admitted (1827) to the bar, he began practice in Portland in 1829 and by 1835 was regarded as one of the leading lawyers of M...

holiday

(Encyclopedia)holiday [altered from holy day], day set aside for the commemoration of an important event. Holidays are often accompanied by public ceremonies, such as parades and carnivals, and by religious observa...

Seward, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Seward, William Henry, 1801–72, American statesman, b. Florida, Orange co., N.Y. In 1861, Seward became Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln, and many expected him to be the real power in th...

Divine, Father

(Encyclopedia)Divine, Father, c.1882–1965, African-American religious leader, founder of the Peace Mission movement, b. probably near Savannah, Ga. and named George Baker. After preaching in the South, he moved t...

Lindsay, Vachel

(Encyclopedia)Lindsay, Vachel (Nicholas Vachel Lindsay) lĭnˈzē [key], 1879–1931, American poet, b. Springfield, Ill., studied at Hiram College, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York School of Art. Li...

Kinnock, Neil Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Kinnock, Neil Gordon kĭnˈək [key], 1942–, British politician, b. Tredegar, Wales. The son of a miner, he studied at University College, Cardiff. In 1970 he was elected to Parliament as a Labour p...