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Parti Québécois

(Encyclopedia)Parti Québécois pärtē kēbĕkwäˈ [key] (PQ), provincial political party committed to the independence of Quebec. Founded in 1968, it soon became a force in provincial elections. In 1976, led by ...

Bell, Alexander Graham

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Alexander Graham, 1847–1922, American scientist, inventor of the telephone, b. Edinburgh, Scotland, educated at the Univ. of Edinburgh and University College, London; son of Alexander Melville...

Weed, Thurlow

(Encyclopedia)Weed, Thurlow thûrˈlō [key], 1797–1882, American journalist and political leader, b. Cairo, N.Y. After working on various newspapers in W New York, Weed joined the Rochester Telegraph and was inf...

Dickens, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Dickens, Charles, 1812–70, English author, b. Portsmouth, one of the world's most popular, prolific, and skilled novelists. Charles Dickens is one of the giants of English literature. He wrote fro...

Tennessee, state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Tennessee tĕnˈəsēˌ, tĕnˌəsēˈ [key], state in the SE central United States. It is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia (N), North Carolina (E), Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi (S), and,...

Emigrant Aid Company

(Encyclopedia)Emigrant Aid Company, organization formed in 1854 to promote organized antislavery immigration to the Kansas territory from the Northeast. Eli Thayer conceived the plan as early as Feb., 1854, even be...

Savannah, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Savannah, city (1990 pop. 137,560), seat of Chatham co., SE Ga., a port of entry on the Savannah River near its mouth; inc. 1789. A rail, fishing, and industrial center, it is a leading southern port ...

Shakur, Tupac Amaru

(Encyclopedia) Shakur, Tupac Amaru, 1971-1996, African-American rap artist, composer, and actor, b. New York, N.Y., as Lesane Parish Crooks. Tupac’s mother was a ...

Sumner, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Sumner, Charles, 1811–74, U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1851–74), b. Boston. He attended (1831–33) and was later a lecturer at Harvard law school, was admitted (1834) to the bar, and practice...

Burns, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Burns, Robert, 1759–96, Scottish poet. Burns's art is at its best in songs such as “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton,” “My Heart's in the Highlands,” and “John Anderson My Jo.” Two collections...