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John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

(Encyclopedia)John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, philanthropic institution founded 1978 by John D. MacArthur (1897–1978), owner of a prominent insurance company and other businesses, and his wife Cath...

Morris, Richard, d. 1672, American colonial landowner

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Richard, d. 1672: see under Morris, family. ...

Mansur, al-, d. 775, 2d Abbasid caliph

(Encyclopedia)Mansur, al- äl-mänso͝orˈ [key] [Arab.,=the victorious], d. 775, 2d Abbasid caliph (754–75) and founder of the city of Baghdad. His name was in full Abu Jafar abd-Allah al-Mansur. He was brother ...

Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader

(Encyclopedia)Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader, one of the generals of the Peloponnesian War. In his old age Callias was one of the ambassadors sent to Sparta with Callistratus to negotiate a peace treaty in...

Belshazzar

(Encyclopedia)Belshazzar bĕlshăzˈər [key], according to the Bible, son of Nebuchadnezzar and last king of Babylon. The Book of Daniel relates that, at his feast, handwriting appeared on the wall. Daniel interpr...

Filson, John

(Encyclopedia)Filson, John, c.1753–1788, Kentucky pioneer, b. Chester co., Pa. In 1783 he acquired land in Kentucky, taught school, and wrote Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke (1784). This firs...

Revelation

(Encyclopedia)Revelation or Apocalypse əpŏkˈəlĭps [key], the last book of the New Testament. It was written c.a.d. 95 on Patmos Island off the coast of Asia Minor by an exile named John, in the wake of local p...

O'Connor, Feargus

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Feargus fûrˈgəs [key], 1794–1855, Irish Chartist leader. Elected to the Parliament of 1832 as a supporter of Daniel O'Connell, he soon quarreled with O'Connell and was forced out of Par...

Shaw, George Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, George Bernard, 1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy pref...

Curtis, George Ticknor

(Encyclopedia)Curtis, George Ticknor, 1812–94, American lawyer and writer, b. Watertown, Mass. A highly successful patent attorney, Curtis served in the Massachusetts legislature (1840–43) and as U.S. commissio...