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Doctorow, E. L.

(Encyclopedia)Doctorow, E. L. (Edgar Lawrence Doctorow) dŏkˈtərōˌ [key], 1931–2015, American novelist, b. New York City. The author of a dozen novels, Doctorow is known for his skillful blending of fiction a...

James, Cyril Lionel Robert

(Encyclopedia)James, C. L. R., 1901–1989, Trinidadian historian, journalist, and communist activist, b. Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago. A social theorist, anti-colon...

Ngugi wa Thiong'o

(Encyclopedia)Ngugi wa Thiong'o ĕngo͞oˈgē wä tē-ŏngˈgō [key] or James Ngugi, 1938–, Kenyan writer, acclaimed as East Africa's foremost novelist. He studied at universities in Uganda and England. His firs...

nullification

(Encyclopedia)nullification, in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstituti...

Scarsdale

(Encyclopedia)Scarsdale, village (1990 pop. 16,987), Westchester co., SE N.Y., a residential suburb of New York City; settled c.1701, inc. 1915. Scarsdale is often considered typical of upper-class suburban communi...

Pausanias, geographer of ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Pausanias, fl. a.d. 150, traveler and geographer, probably b. Lydia. His Description of Greece is an invaluable source for the topography, monuments, and legends of ancient Greece. There are translati...

Donovan, William Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Donovan, William Joseph dŏnˈəvən [key], 1883–1959, U.S. lawyer and government official, b. Buffalo, N.Y., grad. Columbia law school. Distinguished service in World War I won him medals and the n...

consciousness

(Encyclopedia)consciousness, in psychology, a term commonly used to indicate a state of awareness of self and environment. In Freudian psychology, conscious behavior largely includes cognitive processes of the ego,...

Claiborne, William Charles Coles

(Encyclopedia)Claiborne, William Charles Coles, 1775–1817, governor of Louisiana, b. Sussex co., Va. He began law practice in Sullivan co., Tenn., and was appointed a judge of the state supreme court in 1796. As ...

Fargo, William George

(Encyclopedia)Fargo, William George, 1818–81, American pioneer expressman, b. Pompey, N.Y. He had been successively a postrider, freight agent, messenger, and resident agent (1843) for an express company in Buffa...