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Wallace, Henry Cantwell

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Henry Cantwell, 1866–1924, American agricultural leader and cabinet officer, b. Rock Island, Ill., grad. Iowa State College of Agriculture (now Iowa State Univ.), 1892; son of Henry Wallace...

War Production Board

(Encyclopedia)War Production Board (WPB), former U.S. government agency, established (Jan., 1942) by executive order to direct war production and the procurement of materials in World War II. The chairman (Donald M...

Blake, Eubie

(Encyclopedia)Blake, Eubie (James Hubert Blake), 1887–1983, African-American pianist and composer, b. Baltimore. His career extended from ragtime (see jazz) to Broa...

Sharpe, William Forsyth

(Encyclopedia)Sharpe, William Forsyth, 1934–, American economist, b. Boston, Mass., Ph.D. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, 1961. After working at the Rand Corporation, he taught at the Univ. of Washington (1961�...

Ladysmith

(Encyclopedia)Ladysmith, town, part and seat of Emnambithi-Ladysmith local municipality, KwaZulu-Natal prov., E South Africa. The town has railroad yards and food-processing, textile, and tire factories. It is the ...

Woffington, Peg

(Encyclopedia)Woffington, Peg (Margaret Woffington), 1714?–1760, English actress, b. Dublin. Her charm and beauty as a child attracted attention, and at the age of 10 she acted in the role of Polly Peachum in a L...

Rockne, Knute Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Rockne, Knute Kenneth no͞ot, rŏkˈnē [key], 1888–1931, American football coach, b. Norway, B.S. Notre Dame, 1914. In 1893 he settled with his parents in Chicago. He excelled at football at Notre ...

Steinitz, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Steinitz, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm shtīˈnĭts [key], 1836–1900, German chess player. In 1866 he won a match from Adolf Anderssen, the leading player after Paul Morphy's retirement, and became world cha...

magic, in entertainment

(Encyclopedia)magic, in entertainment, the seeming manipulation and supernatural control of the natural world for the amusement and amazement of an audience. Entertainment magic can be divided into four main catego...

Dewey, Thomas Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Dewey, Thomas Edmund, 1902–71, American political figure, governor (1943–55) of New York, b. Owosso, Mich. Admitted (1925) to the bar, Dewey practiced law and in 1931 became chief assistant U.S. a...