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Griffith, D. W.

(Encyclopedia)Griffith, D. W. (David Llewelyn Wark Griffith), 1875–1948, American movie director and producer, b. La Grange, Ky. Griffith was the first major American film director. He began his film career as an...

James, P. D.

(Encyclopedia)James, P. D. (Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park), 1920–2014, English mystery novelist, b. Oxford. From 1964 to 1979 she worked in the forensic science and criminal law divi...

Jayaratne, D. M.

(Encyclopedia)Jayaratne, D. M. (Disanayayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne), 1931–, Sri Lankan political leader. A cofounder of the Sri Lanka Freedom party (1951), he was a teacher and postmaster until becoming a membe...

Snodgrass, W. D.

(Encyclopedia)Snodgrass, W. D. (William DeWitt Snodgrass), 1926–2009, American poet and translator, b. Wilkinsburg, Pa., grad. Univ. of Iowa, 1959. He is particularly known for his debut book, Heart's Needle (195...

Pennebaker, D. A.

(Encyclopedia)Pennebaker, D. A. (Donn Alan Pennebaker), 1925–2019, pioneering documentary filmmaker, b. Evanston, Ill. His first film, Daybreak Express (1958), is a five-minute short detailing New York's doomed T...

Tompkins, Daniel D.

(Encyclopedia)Tompkins, Daniel D., 1774–1825, American political figure, Vice President of the United States (1817–25), b. Scarsdale, N.Y. A leader of the Jeffersonian group in New York state, he was elected to...

Wald, Lillian D.

(Encyclopedia)Wald, Lillian D. wôld [key], 1867–1940, American social worker and pioneer in public health nursing. In 1893 she organized a visiting nurse service, which became the nucleus of the noted Henry Stre...

Hart, H. L. A.

(Encyclopedia)Hart, H. L. A. (Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart), 1907–92, British legal philosopher. A lawyer and trained philosopher—he was a legal positivist—Hart subjected legal concepts to scrutiny in such wo...

Barton, Derek H. R.

(Encyclopedia)Barton, Derek H. R., 1918–98, British chemist, b. Gravesend, England, grad. Imperial College of Science and Technology (B.S. 1940, Ph.D. 1942, D.Sc. 1949). He was on the faculty of Imperial College ...

Cinna, d. 84 b.c., Roman politician

(Encyclopedia)Cinna (Lucius Cornelius Cinna) sĭnˈə [key], d. 84 b.c., Roman politician, consul (87 b.c.–84 b.c.), and leader of the popular party. Shortly after Cinna's first election, Sulla left Rome to fight...