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Blackmun, Harry Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Blackmun, Harry Andrew blăkˈmən [key], 1908–99, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1970–94), b. Nashville, Ill. Educated at Harvard, he practiced law privately, was general counsel to...

Bradley, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Bradley, Bill (William Warren Bradley), 1943–, American athlete and politician, b. Crystal City, Mo. He first gained wide attention as an All-America basketball player at Princeton. Graduating in 19...

Brown, Moses

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Moses, 1738–1836, American manufacturer and philanthropist, b. Providence, R.I. He was associated with his brothers John, Joseph, and Nicholas in the family's mercantile activities before est...

Nansen International Office for Refugees

(Encyclopedia)Nansen International Office for Refugees, worldwide agency est. 1931 by the League of Nations to work on behalf of refugees. It was named for Fridjof Nansen, head of the League's High Commission for R...

Pujo, Arsène Paulin

(Encyclopedia)Pujo, Arsène Paulin arsĕnˈ pôlăNˈ püzhōˈ [key], 1861–1939, U.S. congressman, b. Lake Charles, La. He practiced law in Louisiana before serving (1903–13) as a Democratic Congressman in the...

Marbury v. Madison

(Encyclopedia)Marbury v. Madison, case decided in 1803 by the U.S. Supreme Court. William Marbury had been commissioned justice of the peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams in the “midnight ap...

Stamp Act

(Encyclopedia)Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamp...

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.

(Encyclopedia)Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka because she was black. When, com...

Perkins, Frances

(Encyclopedia)Perkins, Frances, 1882–1965, U.S. Secretary of Labor (1933–45), b. Boston. She worked at Hull House, was executive secretary of the New York Consumers' League (1910–12) and of the New York Commi...

MacVeagh, Isaac Wayne

(Encyclopedia)MacVeagh, Isaac Wayne məkvāˈ [key], 1833–1917, American political figure, U.S. Attorney General (1881), b. Chester co., Pa. A lawyer, he was the son-in-law of Simon Cameron, Republican boss of Pe...