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Somers, John Somers, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Somers, John Somers or Sommers, Baron sŭmˈərz [key], 1651–1716, English jurist and statesman. In the Glorious Revolution he secured Parliament's acceptance of the official statement that James II...

Wilson, James, American jurist

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, James, 1742–98, American jurist, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near St. Andrews, Scotland. He studied at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and, after emigrating to Pe...

Rush, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Rush, Benjamin, 1745?–1813, American physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Byberry (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton, 1760), M.D. Univ. o...

Celan, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Celan, Paul äntˈshschwa;l [key], 1920–70, Romanian-French poet. Although he spent his early years in Romania and his later years in France, Celan wrote in German and is widely considered the great...

Abubakar, Atiku

(Encyclopedia)Abubakar, Atiku ätēˈko͞o äbo͞obäkärˈ [key], 1946–, Nigerian politician, grad. Ahmadu Bello Univ. Law School (1969). A Muslim and member of the Hausa ethnic group, he worked in the governmen...

Copland, Aaron

(Encyclopedia)Copland, Aaron kōpˈlənd [key], 1900–1990, American composer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Copland was a pupil of Rubin Goldmark and of Nadia Boulanger, who introduced his work to the United States when she ...

Corregidor

(Encyclopedia)Corregidor kərĕˈgĭdôrˌ [key], historic fortified island (c.2 sq mi/5 sq km), at the entrance to Manila Bay, just off Bataan peninsula of Luzon island, the Philippines. From the days of the Spani...

Ghent, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Ghent, Treaty of, 1814, agreement ending the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. It was signed at Ghent, Belgium, on Dec. 24, 1814, and ratified by the U.S. Senate in Feb., 1815. ...

Buhari, Muhammadu

(Encyclopedia)Buhari, Muhammadu, 1942–, Nigerian military officer and political leader. A Fulani from Katsina State, he joined the army in 1961; he rose to the rank of general and participated in several coups. H...

Temple, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Temple, Sir William, 1628–99, English diplomat and author. He was married in 1655 to Dorothy Osborne. They settled in Ireland, and in 1661 Temple entered the Irish parliament. He moved (1663) to Eng...