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O'Neal, Shaquille

(Encyclopedia)O'Neal, Shaquille (Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal) shəkēlˈ rəshônˈ ōnēlˈ [key], 1972–, American basketball player, b. Newark, N.J. Joining the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association...

Williams, Jody

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Jody, 1950–, American social activist, b. Putney, Vt., grad. Univ. of Vermont (B.A., 1972), School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vt. (M.A., 1976), Johns Hopkins (M.A., 1984). Af...

Yamasaki, Minoru

(Encyclopedia)Yamasaki, Minoru mĭnōˈro͞o yämäsäˈkē [key], 1912–86, American architect, b. Seattle. Yamasaki worked for prominent architectural firms in New York City from 1937 until 1949, when he formed ...

Boyer, Paul Delos

(Encyclopedia)Boyer, Paul Delos, 1918–2018, American biochemist, b. Provo, Utah, Ph.D. Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison, 1943. Boyer taught at the Univ. of Minnesota, first in Saint Paul (1946–56) and then in Minne...

Stoddart, James Fraser

(Encyclopedia)Stoddart, James Fraser, 1942–, British chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Edinburgh, 1966. He began his career at Sheffield Univ., England, in 1970, then moved to Birmingham Univ., England, in 1990, the Univ. ...

Clarke, Mary Victoria (Novello) Cowden

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Mary Victoria (Novello) Cowden: see under Clarke, Charles Cowden. ...

Actors Studio, The

(Encyclopedia)Actors Studio, The, organization founded 1947 in New York City by the directors Cheryl Crawford, Elia Kazan, and Robert Lewis to train professional actors. Long directed (1948–82) by Lee Strasberg a...

transcontinental railroad

(Encyclopedia)transcontinental railroad, in U.S. history, rail connection with the Pacific coast. In 1845, Asa Whitney presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to subsidize the building of a railroad...

Sun Belt

(Encyclopedia)Sun Belt or Sunbelt, southern tier of the United States, focused on Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, and extending as far north as Virginia. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, when the eco...

Olmedo, José Joaquin

(Encyclopedia)Olmedo, José Joaquin hōsāˈ wäkēnˈ ōlmāˈᵺō [key], 1780–1847, Ecuadorian statesman and poet. An ambassador to Paris and London after Ecuador's independence, Olmedo gained renown for his o...