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McClure, Alexander Kelly

(Encyclopedia)McClure, Alexander Kelly, 1828–1909, American journalist and political leader, b. Perry co., Pa. He edited and published the Juniata Sentinel of Mifflintown, Pa., before acquiring and editing (1850â...

kite, in aviation and recreation

(Encyclopedia)kite, in aviation, aircraft restrained by a towline and deriving its lift from the aerodynamic action of the wind flowing across it. Commonly the kite consists of a light framework upon which paper, s...

Harvey, William

(Encyclopedia)Harvey, William, 1578–1657, English physician considered by many to have laid the foundation of modern medicine, b. Folkestone, studied at Cambridge, M.D. Univ. of Padua, 1602. Returning to London, ...

Hamlin, Hannibal

(Encyclopedia)Hamlin, Hannibal, 1809–91, Vice President of the United States (1861–65), b. Paris, Maine. Admitted to the bar in 1833, he practiced at Hampden, Maine. He was a Maine legislator (1836–40, 1847),...

Hearst, George

(Encyclopedia)Hearst, George hûrst [key], 1820–91, American mining magnate, U.S. senator (1886–91), b. Franklin co., Mo. He went to California in 1850 and became a mining prospector and geologist. He successfu...

Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald

(Encyclopedia)Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald hīˈlīn [key], 1907–88, American science-fiction writer, b. Butler, Mo. His best-known novel, Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), concerns a young man who is raised...

Izard, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Izard, Ralph ĭzˈərd [key], 1742–1804, American diplomat and legislator, b. near Charleston, S.C. After an education in England, he returned (1764) to South Carolina but in 1771 again went to Lond...

Dodd, Samuel Calvin Tate

(Encyclopedia)Dodd, Samuel Calvin Tate, 1836–1907, American lawyer, b. Franklin, Pa. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1859. Dodd was employed by the Rockefeller interests and is credited with devising t...

Baldwin, Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, Abraham, 1754–1807, American political leader, b. Guilford, Conn. After serving as a chaplain in the American Revolution, he studied law and in 1784 was admitted to practice in Georgia. He ...

Rittenhouse, David

(Encyclopedia)Rittenhouse, David, 1732–96, American astronomer and instrument maker, b. near Germantown, Pa., self-educated. A clockmaker by trade, he developed great skill in the making of mathematical instrumen...