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Commonwealth Fund

(Encyclopedia)Commonwealth Fund, foundation established (1918) by Anna M. Harkness, wife of Stephen V. Harkness, an early Standard Oil investor, “for the welfare of mankind.” Its headquarters are in New York Ci...

Say, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Say, Thomas, 1787–1843, American naturalist, b. Philadelphia. He went on collecting expeditions to Georgia and Florida and, with Stephen H. Long, to the Rocky Mts. and up the Mississippi and Minneso...

Austin, Moses

(Encyclopedia)Austin, Moses, 1761–1821, American pioneer, b. Durham, Conn. After developing lead mines in SW Virginia, he went to inspect (1796–97) prospects in Missouri, then Spanish territory. In 1798 he foun...

Borough, William

(Encyclopedia)Borough, William, 1536–99, British naval officer. A younger brother of Stephen Borough, William accompanied him on early voyages and was himself a captain for the Muscovy Company. As a naval officer...

May, Philip William

(Encyclopedia)May, Philip William (Phil May), 1864–1903, English pen-and-ink caricaturist, b. Leeds. After living in poverty for many years, he made numerous drawings for the St. Stephen's Review. Phil May's Wint...

Arguedas, Alcides

(Encyclopedia)Arguedas, Alcides älsēˈᵺās ärgāˈᵺäs [key], 1879–1946, Bolivian writer and diplomat. His essays and novels, which have social and moralizing tendencies, are a reaction against the romanti...

Hopkins, Esek

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Esek, 1718–1802, American Revolutionary naval hero, b. Scituate, R.I.; brother of Stephen Hopkins. He commanded a privateer in the French and Indian War, and in Dec., 1775, he was appointed...

Clapham Sect

(Encyclopedia)Clapham Sect, group of English social reformers, active c.1790–1830, so named because their activities centered on the home in Clapham, London, of Henry Thornton and William Wilberforce. Most of the...

Volk, Leonard Wells

(Encyclopedia)Volk, Leonard Wells, 1828–95, American sculptor, b. Wellstown (now Wells), N.Y. In 1848 he went to St. Louis, where he studied drawing and worked at funerary sculpture. With the aid of Stephen A. Do...

Vác

(Encyclopedia)Vác vīˈtsən [key], town (1991 est. pop. 33,858), N central Hungary, on the Danube River. A commercial center producing textiles, footwear, cement, and tools, it is also a favorite summer resort of...