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Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck

(Encyclopedia)Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck, 1836–1911, English playwright and poet. He won fame as the librettist of numerous popular operettas, written in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Wh...

Wabash Case

(Encyclopedia)Wabash Case, popular name for Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company v. Illinois, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1886. The decision narrowed earlier ones (see Munn v. Illinois) favorab...

Crédit Mobilier of America

(Encyclopedia)Crédit Mobilier of America krĕˈdĭt mōbĭlyāˈ, krādēˈ [key], ephemeral construction company, connected with the building of the Union Pacific RR and involved in one of the major financial sca...

Phillips, David Graham

(Encyclopedia)Phillips, David Graham, 1867–1911, American writer, b. Madison, Ind., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton), 1887. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati and New York City, rising to ...

Marciano, Rocky

(Encyclopedia)Marciano, Rocky märsēäˈnō [key], 1924–69, American boxer, b. Brockton, Mass. His real name was Rocco Francis Marchegiano. Failing to become a professional baseball player, Marciano turned to bo...

Jackson, Reggie

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Reggie (Reginald Martinez Jackson), 1946–, American baseball player, b. Wyncote, Pa. In 21 years in the American League, most notably with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, he hit...

news agency

(Encyclopedia)news agency, local, national, international, or technical organization that gathers and distributes news, usually for newspapers, periodicals, and broadcasters. From 1915 until the 1940s, news age...

Shawn, Ted

(Encyclopedia)Shawn, Ted (Edwin Myers Shawn), 1891–1972, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Kansas City, Mo. Introduced to dance as physical therapy, he taught ballroom dancing, then married (1914) the ...

Judson, Adoniram

(Encyclopedia)Judson, Adoniram ădənīˈrəm [key], 1788–1850, American Baptist missionary, b. Malden, Mass. At Andover Theological Seminary, he became the leader of a missionary movement out of which grew the A...

Loeb, Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Loeb, Solomon lōb [key], 1828–1903, American banker, b. Germany. After he came (1849) to the United States, he settled in Cincinnati and became wealthy as a dry-goods merchant. He moved (1865) to N...