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Birney, James Gillespie

(Encyclopedia)Birney, James Gillespie bûrˈnē [key], 1792–1857, American abolitionist, b. Danville, Ky. He practiced law at Danville from 1814 to 1818, before he moved to Alabama, where he served one term in th...

Blaine, James Gillespie

(Encyclopedia)Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830–93, American politician, b. West Brownsville, Pa. As Secretary of State, Blaine was particularly energetic in fostering closer relations with the Latin American natio...

Gillespie, Dizzy

(Encyclopedia)Gillespie, Dizzy (John Birks Gillespie) gəlĕsˈpē [key], 1917–93, American jazz musician and composer, b. Cheraw, S.C. He began to play the trumpet at 15 and later studied harmony and theory at L...

Liberty party

(Encyclopedia)Liberty party, in U.S. history, an antislavery political organization founded in 1840. It was formed by those abolitionists, under the leadership of James G. Birney and Gerrit Smith, who repudiated Wi...

Bailey, Gamaliel

(Encyclopedia)Bailey, Gamaliel, 1807–59, American abolitionist editor, b. Mt. Holly, N.J. In 1837 he succeeded James Birney as editor and publisher of the Philanthropist at Cincinnati. Three times his office was ...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

Douglass, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Douglass, Frederick dŭgˈləs [key], c.1818–1895, American abolitionist, b. near Easton, Md. as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. The son of a black slave, Harriet Bailey, and a white father, m...

Weld, Theodore Dwight

(Encyclopedia)Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803–95, American abolitionist, b. Hampton, Conn. In 1825 his family moved to upstate New York, and he entered Hamilton College. While in college he became a disciple of the e...

Lind, James

(Encyclopedia)Lind, James, 1716–94, English naval surgeon. Considered the founder of naval hygiene in England, Lind observed on a ten-week cruise (1746) that 80 seamen of 350 came down with scurvy. In his Treatis...

Lenox, James

(Encyclopedia)Lenox, James lĕnˈəks [key], 1800–1880, American bibliophile and philanthropist, b. New York City. Lenox was a founder of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City. He amassed a fine collection of ...