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Mendocino, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Mendocino, Cape mĕndəsēˈnō [key], westernmost point of California, c.200 mi (320 km) N of San Francisco in Humboldt co. It was discovered and named in 1543 in honor of Antonio de Mendoza by Barto...

Wiggin, Kate Douglas (Smith)

(Encyclopedia)Wiggin, Kate Douglas (Smith), 1856–1923, American author and educator, b. Philadelphia. In San Francisco she organized the first free kindergartens on the Pacific coast (1878) and with her sister es...

Wheaton, William Rufus

(Encyclopedia)Wheaton, William Rufus, 1814–88, American baseball pioneer, b. New York City. He practiced law in New York during the 1830s and 40s, and was a founding member and vice president of the Knickerbocker...

Burgess, Gelett

(Encyclopedia)Burgess, Gelett (Frank Gelett Burgess) jəlĕtˈ [key], 1866–1951, American humorist, b. Boston. His ability as an illustrator led him into magazine work, and he was soon writing humorous articles a...

Padilla, Ezequiel

(Encyclopedia)Padilla, Ezequiel āsākyĕlˈp äᵺēˈyä [key], 1890–1971, Mexican political leader. A revolutionary under Pancho Villa, he studied law in New York City. He served as secretary of public educati...

Alcatraz

(Encyclopedia)Alcatraz ălˈkətrăzˌ [key] [Sp. Álcatraces=pelicans], rocky island in San Francisco Bay, W Calif, about one mile (1.61 km) north of San Francisco. Alcatraz was first sighted by the Spanish in 177...

Muybridge, Eadweard

(Encyclopedia)Muybridge, Eadweard ĕdˈwərd mīˈbrĭj [key], 1830–1904, English-born photographer and student of animal locomotion. Muybridge changed his name from Edward James Muggeridge. A gifted and obsessed...

Oliveros, Pauline

(Encyclopedia)Oliveros, Pauline, 1932–2016, American composer and musician, b. Houston, Tex., studied Univ. of Houston, San Francisco State College (B.A., 1957). She began playing the accordion as a child, and it...

Belasco, David

(Encyclopedia)Belasco, David bəlăsˈkō [key], 1853–1931, American theatrical manager and producer, b. San Francisco. He was actively connected with the theater from his youth, and while associated with Dion Bo...

Burnham, Daniel Hudson

(Encyclopedia)Burnham, Daniel Hudson bûrˈnəm [key], 1846–1912, American architect and city planner b. Henderson, N.Y. He was trained in architects' offices in Chicago. In that city he established (1873) a part...