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Jordan, Barbara Charline

(Encyclopedia)Jordan, Barbara Charline, 1936–96, African-American lawyer, public official, and educator, b. Houston. After graduating from Boston Univ. Law School (1959), she practiced law in Houston. In 1966 she...

Jenkins, John, American pioneer, 1728–85

(Encyclopedia)Jenkins, John, 1728–85, American pioneer, b. probably Connecticut. In 1753, Jenkins explored the Wyoming Valley for the proposed Susquehanna Company. A settlement (1762) under his leadership was des...

Mattis, James

(Encyclopedia)Mattis, James, 1950–, American general and secretary of defense (2017–18), b. Pullman, Wash., grad. Central Washington Univ. (1971). Commissioned as a second lieutenant (1972) in the Marines after...

Muni, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Muni, Paul myo͞oˈnē [key], 1895–1967, American actor, b. Austria, whose original name was Muni Weisenfreund. His parents brought him to the United States in 1902 and from 1903 to 1913 toured with...

Morton, Oliver Perry

(Encyclopedia)Morton, Oliver Perry, 1823–77, American political leader, b. Salisbury, Ind. He was admitted (1847) to the bar and began practice in Centerville, Ind. Morton helped organize the Republican party in ...

Merry del Val, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Merry del Val, Rafael räfäĕlˈ māˈrē dĕl väl [key], 1865–1930, Spanish prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. London. He was educated for the priesthood and ordained at Rome (188...

Logan, George

(Encyclopedia)Logan, George lōˈgən [key], 1753–1821, American political figure and agriculturist, b. near Germantown (now part of Philadelphia), grandson of James Logan. After obtaining a medical degree abroad...

Nicholls, Francis Redding Tillou

(Encyclopedia)Nicholls, Francis Redding Tillou, 1834–1912, American politician, b. Donaldsonville, La. At the outbreak of the Civil War he helped organize a company of Confederate volunteers and through active se...

Odum, Eugene Pleasants

(Encyclopedia)Odum, Eugene Pleasants, 1913–2002, American ecologist, b. Newport, N.H., Ph.D. Univ. of Illinois, 1939; son of Howard W. Odum. He joined the department of zoology at the Univ. of Georgia in 1940, ev...

Oto

(Encyclopedia)Oto ōˈtō [key], Native North Americans, also called the Otoe, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Oto had a Plains ...

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