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Johnson, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Andrew, 1808–75, 17th President of the United States (1865–69), b. Raleigh, N.C. On Apr. 15, 1865, following Lincoln's assassination, Johnson took the oath of office as President. His...

Baruch, Bernard Mannes

(Encyclopedia)Baruch, Bernard Mannes bəro͞okˈ [key], 1870–1965, U.S. financier and government adviser, b. Camden, S.C. He grew rich through stockmarket speculation before he was 30. In World War I he advised o...

Foucauld, Charles, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Foucauld, Charles, vicomte de shärl vēkôNtˈ də fo͞okōˈ [key], 1858–1916, French priest and missionary in the Sahara. After a career as an army officer and an explorer in Algeria and Morocco,...

Vidocq, Eugène François

(Encyclopedia)Vidocq, Eugène François ûzhĕnˈ fräNswäˈ vēdôkˈ [key], 1775–1857, French detective. After a career of crime for which he had been imprisoned, he joined the Paris Sûreté (security police)...

Baldwin, James

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, James, 1924–87, American author, b. New York City. He spent an impoverished boyhood in Harlem, became a Pentecostal preacher at 14, and left the church three years later. He moved to Paris ...

Wilson, August

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, August, 1945–2005, American playwright and poet, b. Pittsburgh as Frederick August Kittel, Jr. Largely self-educated, Wilson first attracted wide critical attention with his Broadway debut, ...

Rand, Ayn

(Encyclopedia)Rand, Ayn īn [key], 1905–82, American writer, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, as Alissa Rosenbaum. She came to the United States in 1926, became a citizen five years later, and worked for many years as ...

Slidell, John

(Encyclopedia)Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

Langdon, Harry

(Encyclopedia)Langdon, Harry, 1884–1944, American silent film comedian and director, b. Council Bluffs, Iowa. He repeatedly ran away from home to join traveling shows and circuses as a youngster, and later develo...

chief

(Encyclopedia)chief or chieftain, political leader of a band, tribe, or confederation of tribes. At the simpler levels of social organization, the band or tribe usually lacks centralized authority and is ruled by t...
 

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