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Cursor Mundi

(Encyclopedia)Cursor Mundi kûrˈsôr mŭnˈdī [key], a long religious epic in Middle English relating the history of the world as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. This anonymous poem (written c.1300) is a ...

Richards, Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Richards, Gordon, 1904–86, British jockey. He began as a stable apprentice in 1919. From the mid-1920s until his retirement in 1954, he was the championship jockey of England 26 times. In 1943 he be...

Stone, Melville Elijah

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Melville Elijah, 1848–1929, American journalist, b. Hudson, Ill. With others he founded in 1876 the first Chicago penny paper, the Daily News, and in 1881 the Morning News (later the Record)....

Leonard, Buck

(Encyclopedia)Leonard, Buck (Walter Fenner Leonard), 1907–1997, African-American baseball player, b. Rocky Mount, N.C. Beginning in 1933, he played semiprofessional ball with the Baltimore Stars and the Brooklyn ...

Gibson, Josh

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, Josh (Joshua Gibson) 1911–47, American baseball player, b. Buena Vista, Ga. A catcher and the long-time batterymate of Satchel Paige, Gibson was called “the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues....

Jackson, Shoeless Joe

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Shoeless Joe (Joseph Jefferson Jackson), 1887–1951, American baseball player, b. Brandon Mills, S.C. Holder of the third highest (.356) career batting average in major league history, Jacks...

Cobb, Lee J.

(Encyclopedia)Cobb, Lee J., 1911–76, American actor, b. New York City. He first performed with the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse in 1929 and made his Broadway debut in Crime and Punishment (1935). Cobb created the ...

Evert, Christine Marie

(Encyclopedia)Evert, Christine Marie ĕvˈərt [key], 1954–, American tennis player, b. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Noted for her poise on the court, her strong, two-handed backhand, and her nearly flawless baseline ga...

Richard, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Richard, Maurice (Joseph Henri Maurice Richard) zhōzĕfˈ äNrēˈ môrēsˈ rēˈshärˌ [key], 1921–2000, Canadian hockey player, b. Montreal. Richard, nicknamed “the Rocket” by his admirers,...

Wadsworth, Louis Fenn

(Encyclopedia)Wadsworth, Louis Fenn, 1825–1908, American baseball player, b. Litchfield, Conn., grad. Washington College (now Trinity College), Hartford, 1844. After practicing law in New York City and presiding ...