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Carter Family

(Encyclopedia)Carter Family, group of singers that specialized in traditional music of the Southern Appalachian Mountains; it consisted of A(lvin) P(leasant) Carter, 1891–1960, b. Maces Spring, Va.; his wife, Sar...

Cash, Johnny

(Encyclopedia)Cash, Johnny, 1932–2003, American singer and songwriter, b. Kingsland, Ark. Born to a farm family, he went to Memphis in 1955 and recorded such hits as “I Walk the Line” (1956) and “Ring of Fi...

Markham, Gervase

(Encyclopedia)Markham, Gervase, 1568–1637, English writer on horses and English country life. His chief work is Cavelarice; or the English Horseman (1607). Included among his other works are Country Contentments ...

Davidson, George

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, George, 1825–1911, American geographer and astronomer, b. England. From 1845 to 1895 he was on the staff of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He charted (1850–60) the U.S. Pacific coas...

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 132.4 sq mi (343 sq km), in the San Luis Valley of S Colorado; est. as a national monument 1932, designated a national park 2004. Lying in an area of high ...

Miró Ferrer, Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Miró Ferrer, Gabriel fĕrĕrˈ [key], 1879–1930, Spanish novelist and short-story writer. One of the Generation of '98, he achieved his powerful individual style through unusual combinations of wor...

Morris, Wright

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Wright (Wright Marion Morris), 1910–98, American writer, b. Central City, Nebr. He was for many years professor of English at San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State Univ.). Fro...

Montana, Joe

(Encyclopedia)Montana, Joe (Joseph Clifford Montana) mŏntănˈə [key], 1956–, American football player, b. New Eagle, Pa. After playing at Notre Dame Univ., he starred (1979–93) for the San Francisco 49ers of...

Kern

(Encyclopedia)Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has ...

Stern, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Stern, Isaac, 1920–2001, American violinist, b. Kremenets, in what is now Ukraine. Brought to the United States as an infant, Stern began piano lessons at the age of six and violin lessons at eight....