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Newlands, Francis Griffith

(Encyclopedia)Newlands, Francis Griffith, 1848–1917, American legislator, b. Natchez, Miss. After practicing law in San Francisco from 1870, he moved (1888) to Nevada. He became well known for his interest in irr...

Nuttall, George Henry Falkiner

(Encyclopedia)Nuttall, George Henry Falkiner nŭtˈôl [key], 1862–1937, American-British bacteriologist, b. San Francisco, M.D. Univ. of California, 1884, Ph.D. Univ. of Göttingen, 1890. In 1899 he became assoc...

Burns, George

(Encyclopedia)Burns, George, 1896–1996, b. New York City as Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen, 1906–64, b. San Francisco, American comedy team (1923–58). In vaudeville in the 1920s, on radio (1932–...

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

(Encyclopedia)William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, philanthropic organization founded in 1966 by engineer and entrepeneur William R. Hewlett (1913–2001), co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, his wife, Flora Lamson Hew...

Russell, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Russell, Bill (William Felton Russell), 1934–, American basketball player, b. Monroe, La. Named an All-American while on the Univ. of San Francisco team, he played on the gold-medal-winning U.S. tea...

Tobey, Mark

(Encyclopedia)Tobey, Mark, 1890–1976, American painter, b. Centerville, Wis. An avid traveler, Tobey visited China and Japan in 1934. He then developed his celebrated “white writing,” in which he attempted to...

Tetrazzini, Luisa

(Encyclopedia)Tetrazzini, Luisa lwēˈzä tāträt-tsēˈnē [key], 1871–1940, Italian coloratura soprano. She made her debut in Florence in 1890. After appearances in Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Latin America, ...

Santa Clara, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Santa Clara sănˈtə klârˈə [key], city (1990 pop. 93,613), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1852. Part of the Silicon Valley high-technology manufacturing complex, the city produces a variety of e...

Alarcón, Hernando de

(Encyclopedia)Alarcón, Hernando de ārnänˈdō dā älärkōnˈ [key], fl. 1540, Spanish explorer in the Southwest. He was given command of a fleet that was supposed to support the land expedition of Francisco V�...

Fátima

(Encyclopedia)Fátima fäˈtēmə [key], hamlet, W central Portugal, in Beira Litoral. At the nearby Cova da Iria is the national shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. This became a great Roman Catholic cent...