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Washington State University

(Encyclopedia)Washington State University, at Pullman; land-grant and state supported; chartered 1890, opened 1892 as an agriculture college. From 1905 to 1959 it was the State College of Washington. The university...

Heflin, James Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Heflin, James Thomas, 1869–1951, U.S. politician, b. Randolph co., Ala. He was admitted (1893) to the bar and in 1920 entered the U.S. Senate where he was known at first as “Cotton Tom” because ...

Hanson, John

(Encyclopedia)Hanson, John, 1715–83, first “President of the United States in Congress Assembled,” b. Charles co., Maryland. He served in the Maryland provincial legislature, was active in the patriot cause i...

Gioia, Melchiorre

(Encyclopedia)Gioia or Gioja, Melchiorre both: mālkyôrˈrā jōˈyä [key], 1767–1829, Italian economist and political theorist. An early advocate of the unification of Italy, he was several times imprisoned, o...

Gallitzin, Demetrius Augustine

(Encyclopedia)Gallitzin, Demetrius Augustine, 1770–1840, American frontier missionary; son of Dmitri Alekseyevich Gallitzin. The young prince followed his mother in joining the Roman Catholic Church and determine...

Bull, Ole Bornemann

(Encyclopedia)Bull, Ole Bornemann bo͞ol [key], 1810–80, Norwegian violinist. After his debut in Paris (1832) he toured in Europe and in the United States, playing mainly his own compositions and Norwegian folk ...

Fitzpatrick, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Fitzpatrick, Thomas, c.1799–1854, American trapper, fur trader, and guide, one of the greatest of the mountain men, b. Co. Cavan, Ireland. He emigrated early to the United States, and by 1823 he was...

Nightingale, Florence

(Encyclopedia)Nightingale, Florence, 1820–1910, English nurse, the founder of modern nursing, b. Florence, Italy. Her life was dedicated to the care of the sick and war wounded and to the promotion of her vision ...

Pocahontas

(Encyclopedia)Pocahontas pōkəhŏnˈtəs [key], c.1595–1617, Native North American woman, daughter of Chief Powhatan. Pocahontas, meaning “playful one” (her birth name was Amonute, and her family called her ...

Vorster, Balthazar Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Vorster, Balthazar Johannes yōhänˈəs bältäzärˈ fôrˈstər [key], 1915–83, South African political leader. A lawyer, John Vorster became involved in the Afrikaner nationalist movement and he...