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Tracy, Benjamin Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Tracy, Benjamin Franklin, 1830–1915, American lawyer, cabinet member, and soldier, b. Owego, N.Y. He was admitted to the bar in 1851 and later served (1853–59) as district attorney of Tioga co., N...

Tuke, William

(Encyclopedia)Tuke, William, 1732–1822, English merchant and philanthropist. He succeeded at an early age to the family business at York in wholesale tea and coffee. He is remembered as the chief founder of the Y...

Rockaway

(Encyclopedia)Rockaway, narrow peninsula, c.10 mi (16 km) long, SW Long Island, SE N.Y., in Queens borough of New York City. Separating Jamaica Bay from the Atlantic Ocean and isolated from the rest of New York Cit...

Gaynor, William Jay

(Encyclopedia)Gaynor, William Jay, 1849–1913, U.S. political leader, mayor of New York City, b. Oneida co., N.Y. He rose to prominence as a civic reformer in Brooklyn and, as justice of the New York supreme court...

Erie Canal

(Encyclopedia)Erie Canal, artificial waterway, c.360 mi (580 km) long; connecting New York City with the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. Locks were built to overcome the 571-ft (174-m) difference between the leve...

Reid, Whitelaw

(Encyclopedia)Reid, Whitelaw, 1837–1912, American journalist and diplomat, b. near Xenia, Ohio. His distinguished correspondence during the Civil War for the Cincinnati Gazette led Horace Greeley to make him mana...

Dance Theatre of Harlem

(Encyclopedia)Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first African-American prin...

Rockefeller, William

(Encyclopedia)Rockefeller, William, 1841–1922, American financier, b. Tioga co., N.Y.; brother of John D. Rockefeller. He joined (1865) his brother in the oil-refining business. William was a successful stock mar...

Knickerbocker

(Encyclopedia)Knickerbocker nĭkˈərbŏkˌər [key], term used almost synonymously with the adjective “Dutch” in respect to Dutch families and customs and the Dutch region of early New York state. A History of...

Lipton, Seymour

(Encyclopedia)Lipton, Seymour, 1903–86, American sculptor, b. New York City. Self-taught as a sculptor, Lipton worked directly in sheet metals and molten alloys, creating organically twisting forms with richly br...
 

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