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Richard of Devizes

(Encyclopedia)Richard of Devizes dĭvīˈzĭz [key], fl. late 12th cent., English chronicler and monk. He wrote a lively Chronicon de rebus gestis Ricardi primi [chronicle of the deeds of Richard I], a valuable his...

Riordan, Richard J.

(Encyclopedia)Riordan, Richard J. rĭrˈdən [key], 1930–2023, American businessman and politician, b. Flushing, ...

Roberts, Richard John

(Encyclopedia)Roberts, Richard John, 1943–, British biochemist, Ph.D., Univ. of Sheffield, 1968. Roberts joined James D. Watson's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in 1972, becoming assistant director for...

Fernández de Kirchner, Cristina Elisabet

(Encyclopedia)Fernández de Kirchner, Cristina Elisabet krēstēˈnä ālēsäbātˈ fārnänˈdās dā kērchˈnâr [key], 1953–, Argentinian politician. A Peronist student activist in the 1970s, she received (1...

Laird, Melvin Robert

(Encyclopedia)Laird, Melvin Robert, 1922–2016, American politician, U.S. secretary of defense (1969–73), b. Omaha, Nebr. After serving (1942–46) in the navy during World War II, he entered politics as a Repub...

Humphrey, Hubert Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Humphrey, Hubert Horatio, 1911–78, U.S. Vice President (1965–69), b. Wallace, S.Dak. After practicing pharmacy for several years, Humphrey taught political science and became involved in state pol...

Hooks, Benjamin Lawson

(Encyclopedia)Hooks, Benjamin Lawson, 1925–2010, African-American civil-rights leader, b. Memphis, Tenn. In 1972 President Nixon named Hooks, a lawyer, Baptist minister, and former Tennessee county criminal court...

ransom

(Encyclopedia)ransom, price of redemption demanded by the captor of a person, vessel, or city. In ancient times cities frequently paid ransom to prevent their plundering by captors. The custom of ransoming was form...

Martin du Gard, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Martin du Gard, Roger rôzhāˈ märtăNˈ də gär [key], 1881–1958, French novelist. Long associated with the Nouvelle Revue française, he first gained recognition with Jean Barois (1913), a nove...

Teamsters Union

(Encyclopedia)Teamsters Union, U.S. labor union formed in 1903 by the amalgamation of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union. Its full name is the International Brotherhood of Teamste...