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Murnau, Friedrich W.

(Encyclopedia) Murnau, Friedrich W. frēˈdrĭkh mo͝orˈnou [key], 1889–1931, German film director, b. as Friedrich W. Plumpe. He began directing films in Germany in 1919 and went to Hollywood in 1927. Murnau's f...

Mohammed, W. Deen

(Encyclopedia) Mohammed, W. Deen (Warith Deen Mohammed), 1933–2008, American Muslim leader, b. Detroit as Wallace Dean Muhammad. The son of Nation of Islam (Black Muslim) leader Elijah Muhammad, he attended religi...

Handy, W. C.

(Encyclopedia) Handy, W. C. (William Christopher Handy), 1873–1958, American songwriter and band leader, b. Florence, Ala. Largely self-taught, Handy began his career as a cornet player in a minstrel show in 1896,...

Wald, Lillian D.

(Encyclopedia) Wald, Lillian D. wôld [key], 1867–1940, American social worker and pioneer in public health nursing. In 1893 she organized a visiting nurse service, which became the nucleus of the noted Henry Stre...

Moerner, W. E.

(Encyclopedia) Moerner, W. E. (William Esco Moerner), 1953–, American physical chemist, b. Pleasanton, Calif., Ph.D. Cornell, 1982. Moerner worked at the IBM Almaden Research Center from 1981 to 1995 and at the Un...

Smith, W. Eugene

(Encyclopedia) Smith, W. Eugene (William Eugene Smith), 1918–78, American photojournalist, b. Wichita, Kan. Smith is considered one of the principal masters of modern photojournalism. The distorted newspaper cover...

Jayaratne, D. M.

(Encyclopedia) Jayaratne, D. M. (Disanayayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne), 1931–, Sri Lankan political leader. A cofounder of the Sri Lanka Freedom party (1951), he was a teacher and postmaster until becoming a membe...

David, T. W. E.

(Encyclopedia) David, T. W. E. (Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth), 1858–1935, Australian geologist and explorer, b. near Cardiff, Wales. David came to Australia in 1882 as an assistant geological surveyor. In 1891 he...
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