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Rockefeller Foundation

(Encyclopedia)Rockefeller Foundation, philanthropic institution established (1913) by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., to promote “the well-being of mankind throughout the world.” During its first 14 years the foundat...

Missouri Compromise

(Encyclopedia)Missouri Compromise, 1820–21, measures passed by the U.S. Congress to end the first of a series of crises concerning the extension of slavery. By 1818, Missouri Territory had gained sufficient popul...

Hickok, Wild Bill

(Encyclopedia)Hickok, Wild Bill, 1837–76, American frontier marshal, b. Troy Grove, near Ottawa, Ill., as James Butler Hickok. He took part in the Kansas struggle preceding the Civil War, was a driver of the Butt...

Tilden, William Tatem, 2d

(Encyclopedia)Tilden, William Tatem, 2d (Bill Tilden), 1893–1953, American tennis player, b. Philadelphia. He developed into a brilliant, versatile tennis player, and from 1913 he won several doubles titles in th...

Wheatley, Phillis

(Encyclopedia)Wheatley, Phillis, 1753?–1784, American poet, considered the first important black writer in the United States. Brought from Africa in 1761, she became a house slave for the Boston merchant John Whe...

ivory-billed woodpecker

(Encyclopedia)ivory-billed woodpecker, common name for the largest of the North American woodpeckers, Campephilus principalis. Once plentiful in Southern hardwood forests, it was believed to be extinct or nearing e...

Memmingen

(Encyclopedia)Memmingen mĕmˈĭng-ən [key], city (1994 pop. 40,222), Bavaria, S Germany. Manufactures include metal products, textiles, electrical machinery, beer, and chemicals. It is also a rail junction. Histo...
 

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