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Clemens, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Clemens, Roger (William Roger Clemens) klĕmˈənz [key], 1962–, American baseball player, b. Dayton, Ohio. Noted for his competitive fire and nicknamed “Roger the Rocket,” Clemens became one of...

West, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)West, Benjamin, 1738–1820, American historical painter who worked in England. He was born in Springfield, Pa., in a house that is now a memorial museum at Swarthmore College. After some instruction ...

Western Federation of Miners

(Encyclopedia)Western Federation of Miners (WFM), a radical labor union that organized the miners and smelter workers of the Rocky Mountain states. Created in 1893 by the merger of several local miners' unions, the...

Diefenbaker, John George

(Encyclopedia)Diefenbaker, John George dēˈfənbāˌkər [key], 1895–1979, Canadian political leader. Elected to Parliament (1940), he succeeded George Drew as leader of the Progressive Conservative party (1956)...

Ade, George

(Encyclopedia)Ade, George, 1866–1944, American humorist and dramatist, b. Kentland, Ind., grad. Purdue Univ., 1887. His newspaper sketches and books attracted attention for their racy and slangy idiom and for the...

Stephenson, George

(Encyclopedia)Stephenson, George, 1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery. He constructed (1814) a tr...

Ems dispatch

(Encyclopedia)Ems dispatch, 1870, communication between King William of Prussia (later German Emperor William I) and his premier, Otto von Bismarck. In June, 1870, the throne of Spain was offered to Prince Leopold ...

Dutch Wars

(Encyclopedia)Dutch Wars, series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was ...

William I, king of England

(Encyclopedia)William I or William the Conqueror, 1027?–1087, king of England (1066–87). Earnest and resourceful, William was not only one of the greatest of English monarchs but a pivotal figure in European hi...
 

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