War of 1812The Civil WarSpanish-American War (1898–1899)Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)Richard Wagner (1813–1883)Archive PhotosEdgar Allan Poe(1809–1849)The Library of Congress Picture…
(Encyclopedia) land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of…
Black Books
Required reading in African-American literature
by Ricco Villanueva Siasoco Who said the classics were all written by dead white males? In the last two…
(Encyclopedia) Allen, Richard, 1760–1831, American clergyman, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was born a slave in Philadelphia and purchased his freedom. He became pastor of a…
(Encyclopedia) Alves, Antônio de CastroAlves, Antônio de Castroəntôˈny&oobreve; dĭ käsˈtr&oobreve; älˈvəs [key], 1847–71, Brazilian poet. A disciple of Victor Hugo, he came to fame with…
(Encyclopedia) Pollock, Oliver, 1737–1823, American merchant, b. Ireland. He arrived in America at the age of 23 and became a successful merchant. After moving to New Orleans, Pollock speculated…
(Encyclopedia) Wood Buffalo National Park, 17,577 sq mi (45,525 sq km), in NE Alta., Canada, extending into the Northwest Territories; est. 1922 to protect the only remaining herd of wood bison. It…
(Encyclopedia) Roscius, QuintusRoscius, Quintuskwĭnˈtəs rŏshˈəs [key], c.126 b.c.–62 b.c., Roman actor. Born a slave at Solonium, he became the greatest comic actor of his time. From the dictator…
(Encyclopedia) Pinto, Fernão MendesPinto, Fernão MendesfĕrnouNˈ mĕnˈdĕsh pēnˈt&oobreve; [key], c.1509–1583, Portuguese traveler. For some 20 years he traveled in Africa and Asia, journeying to…