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Clements, Vassar

(Encyclopedia) Clements, Vassar, 1928–2005, American virtuoso fiddle player, b. Kinards, S.C. Self-taught, he played with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys from 1949 to 1956. Though his roots were in…

dodo, extinct bird

(Encyclopedia) dodo, a flightless forest-dwelling bird of Mauritius, extinct since the late 17th cent. The dodo was closely related to the Rodrigues solitaire, extinct flightless giant found on…

Hand, Learned

(Encyclopedia) Hand, LearnedHand, Learnedlûrˈnəd [key], 1872–1961, American jurist, b. Albany, N.Y. He received his law degree from Harvard in 1896. He was a judge of the U.S. District Court for New…

Scruggs, Earl Eugene

(Encyclopedia) Scruggs, Earl Eugene, 1924–2012, American banjo player, b. Flint Hill, N.C. He developed a distinctive syncopated, three-finger style on the five-string banjo that changed the way it…

Sherbrooke, Robert Lowe, Viscount

(Encyclopedia) Sherbrooke, Robert Lowe, ViscountSherbrooke, Robert Lowe, Viscountshûrˈbr&oobreve;k [key], 1811–92, British statesman. He emigrated (1842) to Australia and achieved recognition as…

skimmer

(Encyclopedia) skimmer, common name for certain sea birds resembling the related tern. Skimmers (genus Rhynchops) have long, laterally compressed bills of which the lower mandible is one fourth…

Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl

(Encyclopedia) Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl, 1758–1834, British public official. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1780 but in 1783 inherited the earldom. In 1794, William Pitt…

executive privilege

(Encyclopedia) executive privilege, exemption of the executive branch of government, or its officers, from having to give evidence, specifically, in U.S. law, the exemption of the president from…

Stockton, Robert Field

(Encyclopedia) Stockton, Robert Field, 1795–1866, American naval officer, b. Princeton, N.J. He left the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) to enter the U.S. Navy at 16 and served in the War of…