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Sears, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Sears, Isaac, c.1730–86, American Revolutionary leader, b. West Brewster, Mass. A merchant sea captain, Sears won a reputation as a daring privateer during the French and Indian War. He was a leader...

Francis, Sir Philip

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Sir Philip, 1740–1818, British statesman and pamphleteer. He may have been the author known as Junius. He held several minor posts in government offices before being appointed to the counci...

Hand, Learned

(Encyclopedia)Hand, Learned lûrˈnəd [key], 1872–1961, American jurist, b. Albany, N.Y. He received his law degree from Harvard in 1896. He was a judge of the U.S. District Court for New York's Southern Distric...

Price, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Price, Richard, 1723–91, English nonconformist minister and philosopher. His philosophical importance rests on his ethical discussion, Review of the Principal Questions and Difficulties in Morals (1...

Durkee, John

(Encyclopedia)Durkee, John dûrˈkē [key], 1728–82, American pioneer and Revolutionary officer, b. Windham, Conn. Durkee, a leading member of the Connecticut Sons of Liberty, led the group that forced Jared Inge...

Desnos, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Desnos, Robert rôbĕrˈ dĕsnôsˈ [key], 1900–1945, French poet. Among the best-known surrealist poets, he was one of the chief proponents of so-called automatic writing. He put himself in a tranc...

Franconia Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Franconia Mountains frăngkōˈnēə [key], range in the White Mts., N N.H., rising to 5,249 ft (1,600 m) at Mt. Lafayette; part of White Mts. National Forest. Franconia Notch, a scenic, narrow pass (...

Miller, Joaquin

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Joaquin wäkēnˈ [key], pseud. of Cincinnatus Heine (or Hiner) Miller, 1839?–1913, American poet, b. Liberty, Ind. In 1852 his family moved to frontier Oregon. He lived in gold-mining camps...

Whiskey Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Whiskey Rebellion, 1794, uprising in the Pennsylvania counties W of the Alleghenies, caused by Alexander Hamilton's excise tax of 1791. The settlers, mainly Scotch-Irish, for whom whiskey was an impor...

Ammanati, Bartolomeo

(Encyclopedia)Ammanati, Bartolomeo bärtōlōmĕˈō äm-mänäˈtē [key], 1511–92, Italian sculptor and architect. He studied under Bandinelli in Florence and assisted Jacopo Sansovino in his work on the Librar...