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Central Park

(Encyclopedia)Central Park, 840 acres (340 hectares), the largest park in Manhattan, New York City; bordered by 59th St. on the south, Fifth Ave. on the east, 110th St. on the north, and Central Park West on the we...

Whitney, Eli

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Eli, 1765–1825, American inventor of the cotton gin, b. Westboro, Mass., grad. Yale, 1792. When he was staying as tutor at Mulberry Grove, the plantation of Mrs. Nathanael Greene, Whitney w...

contempt

(Encyclopedia)contempt, in law, interference with the functioning of a legislature or court. In its narrow and more usual sense, contempt refers to the despising of the authority, justice, or dignity of a court. A ...

Cash, Johnny

(Encyclopedia)Cash, Johnny, 1932–2003, American singer and songwriter, b. Kingsland, Ark. Born to a farm family, he went to Memphis in 1955 and recorded such hits as “I Walk the Line” (1956) and “Ring of Fi...

wormwood

(Encyclopedia)wormwood, Mediterranean perennial herb or shrubby plant (Artemisia absinthium) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), often cultivated in gardens and found as an escape in North America. It has silv...

Beatty, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Beatty, Warren (Henry Warren Beaty) bāˈtē, bēˈ– [key], 1937–, motion picture act...

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

(Encyclopedia)Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804–64, American novelist and short-story writer, b. Salem, Mass., one of the great masters of American fiction. His novels and tales are penetrating explorations of moral and...

United Mine Workers of America

(Encyclopedia)United Mine Workers of America (UMW), international labor union formed (1890) by the amalgamation of the National Progressive Union (organized 1888) and the mine locals under the Knights of Labor. It ...

Haida

(Encyclopedia)Haida hīˈdə [key], Native North Americans living primarily on the Queen Charlotte Islands, off British Columbia, and on the southern end of the Prince of Wales Island, off Alaska. They speak the Ha...

Howe, Frederic Clemson

(Encyclopedia)Howe, Frederic Clemson, 1867–1940, American lawyer, government official, and political scientist, b. Meadville, Pa. He practiced law (1894–1909) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was closely associated...

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