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Yucatán, peninsula, North America

(Encyclopedia)Yucatán yo͞okətănˈ [key], peninsula, c.70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km), mostly in SE Mexico, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises the states of Yucatán, Campeche, and ...

British North America Act

(Encyclopedia)British North America Act, law passed by the British Parliament in 1867 that provided for the unification of the Canadian provinces into the dominion of Canada. Until 1982 the act also functioned as t...

Curry, Michael Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Curry, Michael Bruce, 1953–, American Episcopal bishop, b. Chicago, grad. Hobart College, 1975, Yale Divinity School, 1978. Ordained in 1978, he served as rector of churches in Winston-Salem, N.C., ...

Green, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Green, Paul, 1894–1981, American dramatist, b. Lillington, N.C., grad. Univ. of North Carolina, 1921. He is known for his realistic plays depicting the lives of blacks and white tenant farmers. His ...

Martin, Josiah

(Encyclopedia)Martin, Josiah, 1737–86, British colonial governor, b. West Indies. An army officer, he had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was appointed governor of North Carolina in 1771. He estab...

Westmoreland, William Childs

(Encyclopedia)Westmoreland, William Childs, 1914–2005, U.S. general, b. Spartanburg co., S.C. He graduated from West Point in 1936 and fought with distinction in North Africa and Europe during World War II and la...

Adair, John

(Encyclopedia)Adair, John ədârˈ [key], 1757–1840, American pioneer in Kentucky, b. North Carolina. He went into the Kentucky country in 1786 and became famous as an Indian fighter and as a political leader. In...

Reno, Jesse Lee

(Encyclopedia)Reno, Jesse Lee rēˈnō [key], 1823–62, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Wheeling, Va. (now W.Va.). He was twice brevetted for his service in the Mexican War. In the Civil War, Reno was ...

bittersweet

(Encyclopedia)bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. One, called also woody nightshade...

Atkinson, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Atkinson, Henry, 1782–1842, American army officer, b. North Carolina. After service as a colonel in the War of 1812, he was a commander in the West and led two expeditions (1819, 1825) to the Yellow...