Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Albert King
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Albert King, an American blues musician who created a unique string-bending guitar style that influenced three generations of musicians.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Alice Dunbar Nelson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Alice Dunbar Nelson, a novelist, poet, essayist, and critic associated with the early period of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Alicia Keys
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Alicia Keys, an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress, who achieved enormous success in the early 2000s with her blend of R&B and soul music.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Allen Toussaint
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Allen Toussaint, a songwriter, pianist, and producer, Toussaint was responsible for national hits by Ernie K-Doe, Chris Kenner, Jessie Hill, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and the Showmen,...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Arnold Jacob Wolf
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Arnold Jacob Wolf, an American rabbi and activist born March 19, 1924, Chicago, Ill. .
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Barry Sanders
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Barry Sanders, an American professional gridiron football player. In his 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions (1989-98), Sanders led the National Football League (NFL) in rushing four times...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bell Hooks
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features bell hooks, an American scholar whose work examined the varied perceptions of black women and black women writers and the development of feminist identities.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Big Mama Thornton
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Big Mama Thornton, an American singer and songwriter who performed in the tradition of classic blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie. Her work inspired imitation by Elvis...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bill Dixon
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bill Dixon, an American jazz artist born Oct. 5, 1925, Nantucket, Mass.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Blind Lemon Jefferson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Blind Lemon Jefferson, an American country blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, one of the earliest black folk-blues singers to achieve popular success.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bobby Mc Ferrin
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bobby McFerrin, an American musician noted for his tremendous vocal control and improvisational ability. He often sang a cappella, mixing folk songs, 1960s rock and soul tunes, and jazz...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bobby Short
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bobby Short, an American cabaret singer and piano player who in his personal and performance style came to represent a sophistication and elegance typical of an earlier era.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bob Hayes
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bob Hayes, an American sprinter who, although he was relatively slow out of the starting block and had an almost lumbering style of running, was a remarkably powerful sprinter with as much...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Brock Peters
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Brock Peters, an American actor who employed his powerful bass voice and strong presence in portrayals of a wide range of characters, notably in the role of Tom Robinson in To Kill a...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Bruce Smith
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bruce Smith, an American professional gridiron football defensive end who holds the National Football League (NFL) career record for quarterback sacks (200).
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Buck Leonard
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Buck Leonard, an American baseball player who was considered one of the best first basemen in the Negro leagues. He was among the first Negro leaguers to receive election into the Baseball...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Harrison
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Harrison, an American industrial designer whose creations included such iconic consumer items as polypropylene trash cans (including those with wheels) and the plastic version of...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Henry Turner
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Henry Turner, an American behavioral scientist and early pioneer in the field of insect behavior. He is best known for his work showing that social insects can modify their...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Lee Moore
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Lee Moore, an American photographer born March 9, 1931, Hackleburg, Ala.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Spurgeon Johnson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Spurgeon Johnson, a U.S. sociologist, authority on race relations, and the first black president (1946-56) of Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. (established in 1867 and long...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Cheryl Miller
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Cheryl Miller, an American basketball player who is one of the greatest players in the history of women's basketball. Miller is credited with both popularizing the women's game and...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Clarence Page
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Clarence Page, an American newspaper columnist and television commentator specializing in urban affairs.
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Encyclopedia Britannica: Cynthia Cooper
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Cynthia Cooper, an American basketball player who was the first Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In the WNBA's inaugural season (1997),...
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Encyclopedia Britannica: David Hunter
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features David Hunter, a Union officer during the American Civil War who issued an emancipation proclamation (May 9, 1862) that was annulled by President Abraham Lincoln (May 19).