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Kenton, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Kenton, Simon, 1755–1836, American frontiersman, b. probably Fauquier co., Va. In 1771, believing he had killed a man, he fled westward, assuming the name Simon Butler. He settled in Boonesboro, Ky....

Cædmon

(Encyclopedia)Cædmon kădˈmən [key], fl. 670, English poet. He was reputed by Bede to be the author of early English versions of various Old Testament stories. According to Bede, Cædmon was an ignorant herder w...

Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...

Upshur, Abel Parker

(Encyclopedia)Upshur, Abel Parker ŭpˈshər [key], 1790–1844, American cabinet officer, b. Northampton co., Va. Admitted (1810) to the bar, he practiced law in Richmond, Va., and held state offices. When most of...

Benét, Stephen Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Benét, Stephen Vincent bĕnāˈ [key], 1898–1943, American poet and author, b. Bethlehem, Pa., grad. Yale, 1919; brother of William Rose Benét. After graduating from college, Benét published seve...

Tuke, William

(Encyclopedia)Tuke, William, 1732–1822, English merchant and philanthropist. He succeeded at an early age to the family business at York in wholesale tea and coffee. He is remembered as the chief founder of the Y...

Ulitskaya, Lyudmila Evgenyevna

(Encyclopedia)Ulitskaya, Lyudmila Evgenyevna, 1943–, Russian writer and Soviet-era dissident, grad. Moscow State Univ. She worked as a geneticist at the USSR Academy of Sciences (1968–70), was fired for reprint...

Baguio

(Encyclopedia)Baguio băˈgēō, Sp. bägyōˈ [key], city, Benguet prov., NW Luzon, the Philippine...

Albee, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Albee, Edward ălˈbē [key], 1928–2016, American playwright, one of the leading dramatists of his generation, b. Washington, D.C., as Edward Harvey. His most characteristic work constitutes an absu...

Frick, Henry Clay

(Encyclopedia)Frick, Henry Clay, 1849–1919, American industrialist, b. Westmoreland co., Pa. He worked on his father's farm, was a store clerk, and did bookkeeping before he and several associates organized (1871...

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