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Johnson, Richard Mentor

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Richard Mentor, 1780–1850, Vice President of the United States (1837–41), b. Kentucky, on the site of present Louisville. Admitted (1802) to the bar, he became prominent in state politics...

Oldenburg, Claes

(Encyclopedia)Oldenburg, Claes klăs [key], 1929–, Swedish-American artist, b. Stockholm, raised Chicago, studied at Yale, moved to New York 1956. Usually considered part of the pop art movement, Oldenburg explor...

Ky, Nguyen Cao

(Encyclopedia)Ky, Nguyen Cao nəwēˈĕn kou kē [key], 1930–2011, premier (1965–67) and vice president (1967–71) of the former Republic of South Vietnam. Flight trained by the French, he returned to Vietnam ...

Boucicault, Dion

(Encyclopedia)Boucicault, Dion bo͞oˈsĭkō [key], 1822?–1890, Anglo-Irish dramatist and actor. At 19 he had success with his play London Assurance at Covent Garden, London. In 1853 he went to the United States ...

Woodbury, Levi

(Encyclopedia)Woodbury, Levi, 1789–1851, American cabinet officer and jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1845–51), b. Hillsboro, co., N.H. Important as a politician and jurist in New Hampshire...

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, founded 1888, one of the world's foremost orchestras. It performs at the Royal Concertbegouw [concert building], Amsterdam, Netherlands, designed by Adolf Leonard van Ge...

Schenectady

(Encyclopedia)Schenectady skənĕkˈtədē [key], city (1990 pop. 65,566), seat of Schenectady co., E central N.Y., on the Mohawk River and Erie Canal; founded 1661 by Arent Van Curler, inc. 1798. The General Elect...

Magna Carta

(Encyclopedia)Magna Carta or Magna Charta [Lat., = great charter], the most famous document of British constitutional history, issued by King John at Runnymede under compulsion from the barons and the church in...

Clisson, Olivier de

(Encyclopedia)Clisson, Olivier de ōlēvyāˈ də klēsôNˈ [key], 1336–1407, French soldier, b. Brittany. He fought on the English side in the War of the Breton Succession but entered the French service as comp...

Pennsylvania Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Pennsylvania Railroad, former U.S. transportation company; inc. 1846 by the Pennsylvania legislature. It opened in 1854 as a single-track line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1857, t...