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piracy

(Encyclopedia)piracy, robbery committed or attempted on the high seas. It is distinguished from privateering in that the pirate holds no commission from and receives the protection of no nation but usually attacks ...

Ingersoll, Jared, American colonial official

(Encyclopedia)Ingersoll, Jared, 1722–81, American colonial official, b. Milford, Conn. He was made (1751) king's attorney in New Haven, and later he sailed (1758) for England as a colonial agent. From a second tr...

Manuel I, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Manuel I (Manuel Comnenus) kŏmnēˈnəs [key], c.1120–1180, Byzantine emperor (1143–80), son and successor of John II. He began his reign with a war against the Seljuk Turks, the subjugation of R...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Wilkes, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wilkes, Charles, 1798–1877, American naval officer and explorer, b. New York City, educated by his father. In 1815 he entered the merchant service and received (1818) an appointment as a midshipman....

Hawkes, John

(Encyclopedia)Hawkes, John (John Clendennin Burne Hawkes, Jr.), 1925–98, American writer, b. Stamford, Conn., grad. Harvard, 1949. He taught English at Brown Univ. after 1958. Hawkes is considered one of the most...

Fitch, John

(Encyclopedia)Fitch, John, 1743–98, American inventor, b. Windsor, Conn. Fitch began (1785) work on the invention of the steam engine and steamboat and secured soon afterward the exclusive right to build and oper...

Wooden, John

(Encyclopedia)Wooden, John, 1910–2010, American basketball coach, b. Martinsville, Ind. He was the first athlete to be honored in the basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach. An All-American guard at Pur...

Quidor, John

(Encyclopedia)Quidor, John kĭdôrˈ [key], 1801–81, American painter, b. Tappan, N.Y., studied with J. W. Jarvis. Little appreciated in his own time, he was subsequently accorded a place among the best early Ame...

Crerar, John

(Encyclopedia)Crerar, John krēˈrər [key], 1827–89, American capitalist and philanthropist, b. New York City. Crerar was a manufacturer in Chicago, and gave liberally to many causes. He is remembered chiefly fo...
 

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