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Sloan Foundation

(Encyclopedia)Sloan Foundation, fund established (1934) by automobile executive Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. as a philanthropic institution supporting research in various areas. In its early years it stressed support of U....

Sedgwick, Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Sedgwick, Theodore, 1746–1813, American lawyer and statesman, b. West Hartford, Conn. He practiced law in Massachusetts after being admitted (1766) to the bar. In the American Revolution he acted (1...

Johnson, Boris

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Boris (Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson), 1964–, British political leader, b. New York City, grad. Oxford (1986). While at Oxford Johnson was president of the prestigious Oxford Union deb...

Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Ruth, book of the Bible. It tells a story, set in the days of the judges, of the fidelity of a Moabite widow (Ruth) to her widowed mother-in-law (Naomi). After the death of her husband in Moab, Ruth r...

astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

Butler, Benjamin Franklin, 1818–93, American politician and Union general in the Civil War

(Encyclopedia)Butler, Benjamin Franklin, 1818–93, American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Deerfield, N.H. He moved to Lowell, Mass., as a youth and later practiced law there and in Boston. He w...

Wright, Jim

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Jim (James Claud Wright, Jr.), 1922–2015, U.S. congressman, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1987–89), b. Fort Worth, Tex. Following service in the U.S. army during World War ...

Byrd, Robert Carlyle

(Encyclopedia)Byrd, Robert Carlyle, 1917–2010, U.S. senator from West Virginia (1959–2010), b. North Wilkesboro, N.C., as Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. A Democrat, he served (1947–52) in the West Virginia legisl...

Booth, Junius Brutus

(Encyclopedia)Booth, Junius Brutus, 1796–1852, Anglo-American actor. After experience in the provinces, he appeared at Covent Garden. In 1817, with his portrayal of Richard III, he established himself as a rival ...

Stanford, Leland

(Encyclopedia)Stanford, Leland, 1824–93, American railroad builder, politician, and philanthropist, b. Watervliet, N.Y. After practicing law in Wisconsin, he went (1852) to California, where he became a successfu...