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Ovshinsky, Stanford Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ovshinsky, Stanford Robert, 1922–2012, American inventor and scientist, b. Akron, Ohio. Self-taught, he developed a new type of lathe in the 1940s, the first of many innovations and patents. Special...

Owen, Robert Dale

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Robert Dale, 1801–77, American social reformer, b. Scotland; son of Robert Owen. He studied at his father's New Lanark school and in Switzerland. In 1825 he went to New Harmony, Ind. There he ...

Paine, Robert Treat

(Encyclopedia)Paine, Robert Treat, 1731–1814, political figure in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Boston, Mass. He served briefly as a chaplain in the French and Indian War ...

Nivelle, Robert Georges

(Encyclopedia)Nivelle, Robert Georges rôbĕrˈ zhôrzh nēvĕlˈ [key], 1856–1924, French general. His services in World War I gained him the post of chief assistant to General Pétain at Verdun, and he was late...

Oppenheimer, J. Robert

(Encyclopedia)Oppenheimer, J. Robert ŏpˈənhīˌmər [key], 1904–67, American physicist, b. New York City, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1925), Ph.D. Univ. of Göttingen, 1927. He taught at the Univ. of California and t...

Ayton, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ayton or Aytoun, Sir Robert both: āˈtən [key], 1570–1638, English poet and courtier. He was private secretary to the queens of James I and Charles I, besides holding other posts of honor. He wrot...

Wagner, Robert Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Wagner, Robert Ferdinand wăgˈnər [key], 1877–1953, American legislator, b. Germany. He arrived with his family in the United States in 1885 and grew up in poor surroundings in New York City. Afte...

Benchley, Robert Charles

(Encyclopedia)Benchley, Robert Charles, 1889–1945, American humorist, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1912. He was drama critic of Life (1920–29) and of the New Yorker (1929–40). Benchley was known for a ...

Walker, Robert John

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Robert John, 1801–69, American public official, b. Northumberland, Pa. A lawyer, he practiced for a time in Pittsburgh. In 1826 he moved to Natchez, Miss. As a Democratic Senator (1836–45)...

Warner, Mark Robert

(Encyclopedia)Warner, Mark Robert, 1954–, U.S. politician, b. Indianapolis, grad George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1977), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1980). After settling in Virginia and working as a congressional st...