Sir Robert John Le Mesurier M'Clure
M'Clure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier See: McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Manuelito to Medical Association, American
Ma Yuan
Ma Yuan (c.1160–1225), Chinese Southern Sung period artist, who created some of China's greatest landscape paintings in ink.
Manuelito
Manuelito (1818?–1893), Navajo tribal leader.
Manuscript
Manuscript, document or work written by hand as distinguished from those typewritten or printed (although the typescript of a book is often called the author's manuscript). …
Manzanita
Manzanita, ornamental shrub (Arctostaphylos tomentosa), of the heath family.
Alessandro Manzoni
Manzoni, Alessandro (1785–1873), Italian novelist and poet.
Mao Tse-tung
Mao Tse-tung See: Mao Zedong.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong (1893–1976), founder of the People's Republic of China. Born to an educated peasant in Hunan province, he joined the newly founded Shanghai Communist Party in 1921, and in 1927 led the Autumn Harvest uprising, which was crushed by the local Kuomintang militia, Mao fled to the mountains, where he built up the Red Army and established rural soviets. Surrounded by Kuomintang …
Maori
Maori, original inhabitants of New Zealand.
Map
Map, representation on a flat surface of part or all of the earth's surface, or of another spherical body, showing each point and feature on a predetermined reduced scale and in accordance with a definite projection. Globes provide the most accurate representation of the earth, with regard to area, scale, shape, and direction. Any flat map will create some distortion. The making and study o…
Maple
Maple, common name for the deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Acer, found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Maputo
Maputo (pop. 544,700), capital (1907) and largest city of Mozambique.
Marabou
Marabou, large stork (Leptoptilos crumeni-ferous) with a heavy bill, naked head and neck, and a pink, fleshy pouch dangling from its neck.
Maracaibo
Maracaibo (pop. 1,152,000), city in northwestern Venezuela.
Marajó
Marajó, Brazilian island in the mouth of the Amazon River.
Jean Paul Marat
Marat, Jean Paul (1743–93), French Revolutionary politician.
Marathon
Marathon, village and plain northeast of Athens, Greece, site of an Athenian victory (490 B.C.) over the Persians.
Marble
Marble, rock form of limestone consisting of crystals of calcite or dolomite.
Marble bones
Marble bones See: Osteosclerosis.
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v.
Franz Marc
Marc, Franz (1880–1916), German expressionist painter, with Wassily Kandinsky a cofounder of the Blaue Reiter group.
Marcel Marceau
Marceau, Marcel (1923– ), French mime.
Gabriel Marcel
Marcel, Gabriel (1889–1973), 20th-century French philosopher.
Peyton Conway March
March, Peyton Conway (1864–1955), U.S.
Rocky Marciano
Marciano, Rocky (Rocco Marchegiano; 1923–69), U.S. boxer, considered to be one of the most powerful punchers of all time.
Marcion
Marcion (d.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo See: Polo, Marco.
Guglielmo Marconi
Marconi, Guglielmo (1874–1937), Italian physicist, awarded (with K.F.
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos
Marcos, Ferdinand Edralin (1917–89), president of the Philippines (1965–86). In 1972 Marcos declared martial law in the country and in 1973, under a new constitution, he assumed near-dictatorial authority. Although he lifted martial law in 1981, he retained certain broad martial-law powers. Anti-Marcos forces attracted worldwide attention in Aug. 1983 when returning opposition leader…
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus; 121–180), Roman emperor and philosopher.
Herbert Marcuse
Marcuse, Herbert (1898–1979), German-born U.S. political philosopher who combined Freudianism and Marxism in his social criticism.
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (French, “fat Tuesday”), festivities prior to and on Shrove Tuesday, the last day of carnival before the start of Lent.
Marduk
Marduk, highest god of ancient Babylon.
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa (1717–80), archduchess of Austria, queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80), and wife of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.
Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands, group of islands (184 sq mi/476.6 sq km) in the West Pacific, east of the Philippines.
Mariana Trench
Mariana Trench, world's deepest discovered submarine trench 210 mi (338 km) southwest of Guam.
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (1755–93), queen of France from 1774.
Marie Louise
Marie Louise (1791–1847), empress of France (1810–15).
Marigold
Marigold, annual plant (genus Tagetes) with fragrant orange or yellow flowers, native to Central and South America.
Marihuana
Marihuana See: Marijuana.
Marijuana
Marijuana, or marihuana, nonaddictive drug derived from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
John Marin
Marin, John (1870–1953), U.S. painter and print maker best known for his expressionistic watercolors of Manhattan and the Maine coast.
Marine biology
Marine biology, study of the flora and fauna of the sea, from the smallest plankton to massive whales.
Marine Corps
Marine Corps, U.S., armed service within the Department of the Navy providing troops trained for land, sea, and air operations. The Corps was founded by the Continental Congress in 1775 and established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798. It served in the Revolutionary War, the naval war with France (1798–1801), and the war with Tripoli (1801–05). Nearly 79,000 Marines served in Worl…
Francis Marion
Marion, Francis (c. 1732–95), guerilla leader in the American Revolutionary War.
Marionette
Marionette See: Puppet.
Mariposa lily
Mariposa lily, or sego lily (genus Calochortus), tuliplike member of the lily family.
Roger Maris
Maris, Roger (1934–85), U.S. baseball player.
Marisol
Marisol (Marisol Escobar; 1930– ), Venezuelan-born U.S. sculptor who satirizes and caricatures human society by creating Pop Art-type figures, usually from wood and clay.
Jacques Maritain
Maritain, Jacques (1882–1973), leading French neo-Thomist philosopher.
Maritime law
Maritime law, body of law, based on custom, court decisions, and statutes, seeking to regulate all aspects of shipping and ocean commerce, such as insurance, salvage, and contracts for carriage of goods by sea.
Maritime Provinces
Maritime Provinces See: Atlantic Provinces.
Gaius Marius
Marius, Gaius (157–86 B.C.), Roman general and politician.
Pierre Marivaux
Marivaux, Pierre (1688–1763), French playwright and novelist, best known for his witty comedies.
Marjoram
Marjoram, perennial herb of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region and Asia.
Mark Antony
Mark Antony See: Antony, Marc.
Saint Mark
Mark, Saint, or John Mark (fl. 1st century A.D.), Christian evangelist and traditional author of the second Gospel, which derived information from St.Peter in Rome.
Market research
Market research, process of gathering and analyzing information for marketing decision making.
Marketing
Marketing, refers to all activities concerned with the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer. It includes the various physical movements of the product including the pricing, wholesaling, transporting, and retailing of the product. It also involves packaging, design, and advertising. Marketing may be said to include everything that has to do with how a product is sold. In ea…
Edwin Markham
Markham, Edwin (1852–1940), U.S. poet and lecturer whose poem of social protest, “The Man with the Hoe” (1899), based on a painting by Millet, brought him a fortune and worldwide acclaim.
Dame Alicia Markova
Markova, Dame Alicia (1910– ), leading English ballerina.
Duke of Marlborough
Marlborough, Duke of (John Churchill; 1650–1722), English soldier and politician, one of the country's greatest generals.
Marlin
Marlin, gamefish related to the sailfish and the swordfish, found in warm oceans.
Christopher Marlowe
Marlowe, Christopher (1564–93), English poet and dramatist, a major influence on William Shakespeare.
Sea of Marmara
Marmara, Sea of, sea between the Asian and European sections of Turkey.
Marmoset
Marmoset, the world's smallest monkey, usually growing to less than 1 ft (30 cm) long.
Marmot
Marmot, large round squirrel (genus Marmota) found in much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Battles of the Marne
Marne, Battles of the, two World War I battles fought in the Marne River area of France.
Marne River
Marne River, chief tributary of the Seine River, France, rising on the Langres Plateau of eastern France and flowing through 310 mi (500 km) of rich farmland before joining the Seine southeast of Paris.
J(ohn) P(hillips) Marquand
Marquand, J(ohn) P(hillips) (1893–1960), U.S. novelist best known for his detective stories centered on the Japanese agent Mr.
Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands, 2 clusters of mountainous and volcanic islands in the South Pacific, about 900 mi (1,400 km) northeast of Tahiti.
Jacques Marquette
Marquette, Jacques (1637–75), French Jesuit missionary and explorer.
Marrakech
Marrakech, or Marrakesh (pop. 332,700), city of southwestern Morocco, near the Atlas Mtns.
Marriage
Marriage, union between man and woman for the purpose of cohabitation and usually also for raising children. The modern trend is towards monogamy, union between one man and one woman only. Many societies still permit polygamy, but it is increasingly rare. Forms of group and communal marriage have been tried from time to time, though with little success or social acceptance. Marriage is in some sen…
Frederick Marryat
Marryat, Frederick (1792–1848), English author.
Mars
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, with a mean solar distance of 141.6 million mi (227.9 million km) and a mean diameter of 4,223 mi (6,796 km). Mars takes about 687 earth-days to orbit the Sun. The planet's temperature ranges from −191° to 81°F (−124° to 27°C), and its tenuous atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide. The distinctive Martian…
Mars
Mars, in Roman mythology, the god of war.
Marseille
Marseille (pop. 807,700), second largest city in France, located in the southeastern part of the country.
Marsh
Marsh, flat wetland area characterized by grassy plant growth.
Marsh gas
Marsh gas See: Methane.
Marsh hawk
Marsh hawk See: Northern harrier.
Marsh mallow
Marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis), herb found mainly in Europe, although it is now grown in the United States.
Marsh marigold
Marsh marigold See: Cowslip.
Reginald Marsh
Marsh, Reginald (1898–1954), U.S. painter.
Alfred Marshall
Marshall, Alfred (1842–1924), English economist, professor of political economy at Cambridge (1885–1908).
George Catlett Marshall
Marshall, George Catlett (1880–1959), U.S. general and politician.
Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands, 2 curving chains, each about 650 mi (1,050 km) in length, of altogether 34 coral atolls and islands in the west central Pacific: the eastern Radak (Sunrise) chain and the western Ralik (Sunset) chain.
James Wilson Marshall
Marshall, James Wilson (1810–85), discoverer of gold in California.
John Marshall
Marshall, John (1755–1835), fourth chief justice of the United States, known as the “Great Chief Justice.” He established the modern status of the Supreme Court. He served in the Revolutionary War, studied law, and was elected to the Virginia legislature in 1782. A staunch Federalist, he supported acceptance of the Constitution. He declined ministerial posts but became one of …
Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan, or European Recovery Program, program designed to help Europe's economic recovery after World War II, named for its originator, U.S.
Thurgood Marshall
Marshall, Thurgood (1908–93), U.S. judge, first black member of the United States' Supreme Court.
John Marston
Marston, John (1576–1634), English playwright best known for his comedy The Malcontents (1604).
Marsupial
Marsupial, any of an order (Marsupialia) of pouched mammals found mainly in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
José Julian Martí
Martí, José Julian (1853–1895), Cuban poet and hero of the independence movement.
Charles Martel
Martel, Charles See: Charles Mattel.
Marten
Marten, any of several large mammals (genus Martes) of the weasel family with valuable fur.
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, island off the coast of southeast Massachusetts.
Martial
Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis;c.A.D. 40–104), Spanish-born Latin poet.
Martial law
Martial law, temporary superimposition of military on domestic civil government, usually in wartime or other national emergency.
Martin
Martin, any of several birds of the swallow family.
Roger Martin du Gard
Martin du Gard, Roger (1881–1958), French novelist known for his objective but somber exploration of human relationships and the large backgrounds in which he sets them.
Saint Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours, Saint (c.316–397), bishop of Tours.
Martin V
Martin V (Oddone Colonna; 1368–1431), 15th-century Roman Catholic pope.
Harriet Martineau
Martineau, Harriet (1802–76), British writer and social reformer.
Martinique
Martinique, island in the Windward group in the east Caribbean, an overseas department of France since 1946.
Peter Martins
Martins, Peter (1946– ), Danish dancer.
Andrew Marvell
Marvell, Andrew (1621–1678), English metaphysical poet.
Marx brothers
Marx brothers, U.S. comedy team whose main members were Groucho (Julius; 1890–1977), Harpo (Arthur; 1888–1964), and Chico (Leonard; 1886–1961).
Karl Marx
Marx, Karl (1818–83), German philosopher and social and economic theorist, founder of modern socialism. Born in Prussia of Jewish parents, Marx studied philosophy in Bonn and Berlin. When the Cologne newspaper he edited the Rheinische Zeitung, was suppressed (1843), he moved with his wife Jenny von Westphalen to Paris, where he met Friedrich Engels in 1844, and later to London, where he spe…
Marxism
Marxism, foundation philosophy of modern communism, originating in the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Three of its basic concepts are that productive labor is the fundamental attribute of human nature; that the structure of any society is determined by its economic means of production; and that societies evolve by a series of crises caused by internal contradictions, analyzable by dialect…
Mary
Mary, in the Bible, the mother of Jesus, also called the Blessed Virgin.
Mary
Mary, name of 2 English queens.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene, in the New Testament, the woman of Magdala from whom Jesus cast out 7 demons (Luke 8:2).
Queen of Scots Mary
Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–87), queen of Scotland (1542–67), daughter of James V and Mary of Guise.
Virgin Mary
Mary, Virgin See: Mary.
Maryknoll Fathers
Maryknoll Fathers, popular name for the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America.
Maryland
Maryland, state in the mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States; bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south, and West Virginia to the south and west. Chesapeake Bay, a jagged arm of the Atlantic Ocean, almost cuts the state in two from north to south. Maryland's 3,190 mi (5,134 km) of coastli…
Masaccio
Masaccio (Tommaso Guidi; 1401–28), Florentine painter of the Renaissance, one of the great innovators of Western art.
Masada
Masada, mountaintop rock fortress near the southeastern coast of the Dead Sea, Israel.
Masai
Masai, people of eastern Africa who speak the Masai language of the Sudanic group.
Masaryk
Masaryk, name of 2 Czechoslovakian politicians.
Pietro Mascagni
Mascagni, Pietro (1863–1945), Italian opera composer of the verismo (realist) school, known for the one-act Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry, 1890).
John Masefield
Masefield, John (1878–1967), English poet, novelist, and playwright.
Maser
Maser, in technology, acronym for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, a device capable of amplifying or generating radio frequency radiation.
Maseru
Maseru (pop. 109,400), capital of Lesotho, a landlocked independent state in southern Africa.
Abraham Harold Maslow
Maslow, Abraham Harold (1908–70), U.S. psychologist, the major figure in the humanistic school of psychology.
Charles Mason
Mason, Charles See: Mason and Dixon's Line.
Mason and Dixon's Line
Mason and Dixon's Line, Mason-Dixon Line, traditional dividing line between the northern and southern states of the United States.
George Mason
Mason, George (1725–92), U.S. politician who helped draft the U.S.
Mason and Slidell
Mason and Slidell, Confederate diplomats; their seizure while aboard a British vessel nearly touched off a war between the United States and Great Britain during the Civil War.
Masonry
Masonry, or freemasonry, common name for the practices of the order of Free and Accepted Masons, one of the world's largest and oldest fraternal organizations.
Masqat
Masqat See: Muscat.
Masque
Masque, or mask, dramatic entertainment popular in the early-17th-century English court.
Mass
Mass, term for the celebration of Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglo-Catholic churches.
Mass
Mass, in physics, measure of the linear inertia of a body, i.e., of the extent to which it resists acceleration when a force is applied to it.
Mass media
Mass media See: Advertising.
Mass number
Mass number See: Atom.
Mass production
Mass production, production of large numbers of identical objects, usually by use of mechanization.
Mass spectroscopy
Mass spectroscopy, spectroscopic technique in which electric and magnetic fields are used to deflect moving charged particles according to their mass; employed for chemical analysis, separation, isotope determination, or finding impurities.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts, state in New England, the northeastern region of the United States; bordered by Vermont and New Hampshire to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, and New York to the west. Massachusetts can be divided into six land regions. The Coastal Lowlands is a flat or gently sloping plain in the eastern third of the state. Most of the …
Massachusetts Bay Company
Massachusetts Bay Company, English joint stock company set up by royal charter in 1629 and styled the “Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.” The charter gave the company self-government, subject only to the king; it effectively became the constitution of the colony.
Massasoit
Massasoit (1580?–1661), powerful Wampanoag chief who signed a treaty with the Pilgrims under Governor John Carver of Plymouth Colony in 1621.
Jules Massenet
Massenet, Jules (1842–1912), French composer.
Vincent Massey
Massey, Vincent (1887–1967), Canadian diplomat.
Léonide Massine
Massine, Léonide (1896–1979), Russian-born U.S. ballet dancer and choreographer.
Philip Massinger
Massinger, Philip (1583–1640), English dramatist known for satirical comedies.
André Masson
Masson, André (1896–1987), French painter and graphic artist.
Edgar Lee Masters
Masters, Edgar Lee (1869–1950), U.S. poet, novelist, biographer, and playwright whose best-known work is Spoon River Anthology (1915), which reveals the life of a small town as seen through the epitaphs of its inhabitants.
William H. Masters
Masters, William H. (1915– ), and Virginia E.
Bat Masterson
Masterson, Bat (1853–1921), U.S. pioneer and peace officer.
Mastodon
Mastodon, any of a genus (Mammut) of the extinct mammals resembling elephants.
Maté
Maté, also known as yerba maté or Paraguay tea, evergreen tree of the holly family.
Mata Hari
Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida Zelle; 1866–1917), Dutch-born dancer and spy for Germany in World War I.
Materialism
Materialism, in philosophy, any view asserting the primacy of physical matter in explaining the nature of the world.
Mathematics
Mathematics, field of thought concerned with relationships involving concepts of quantity, space, and symbolism.
Mather
Mather, family of American colonial ministers.
Christy Mathewson
Mathewson, Christy (Christopher Mathewson; 1880–1925), U.S. baseball player.
Henri Matisse
Matisse, Henri (1869–1954), French painter, sculptor, and lithographer.
Matter
Matter, material substance existing in space and time.
Matterhorn
Matterhorn, 14,691-ft (4,478-m) high mountain in the Alps on the Swiss-Italian frontier.
Saint Matthew
Matthew, Saint, one of the twelve apostles, traditionally the author of the first gospel.
Don Mattingly
Mattingly, Don (Donald Arthur Mattingly; 1961– ), U.S. baseball player.
Mau Mau
Mau Mau, terrorist organization in Kenya (chiefly the Kikuyu tribe) whose main aim was to expel the British.
W(illiam) Somerset Maugham
Maugham, W(illiam) Somerset (1874–1965), British author.
Maui
Maui See: Hawaii.
Bill Mauldin
Mauldin, Bill (1921– ), U.S. cartoonist.
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea, dormant volcano in Hawaii.
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa, active volcano in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, commemorating Jesus's washing of his disciples' feet and institution of Holy Communion at the Last Supper.
Guy de Maupassant
Maupassant, Guy de See: De Maupassant, Guy.
François Mauriac
Mauriac, François (1885–1970), French author.
Maurice of Nassau
Maurice of Nassau (1567–1625), Prince of Orange from 1618, Dutch statesman, and military leader.
Mauritania
Mauritania, Islamic Republic of, former French colony in western Africa. Mauritania is some 398,000 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km) in area and is bordered by Morocco, Western Sahara and Algeria to the north, Mali and Senegal to the south, Mali to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Mauritania is principally a dry, rocky plateau averaging 500 ft (152 m) above sea level, a southern extension of t…
Mauritius
Mauritius, island republic 500 mi (805 km) east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, comprising the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and associated archipelagos. The main island, Mauritius, is surrounded by coral reefs. The island is principally a plateau and approximately 788 sq mi (2,040 sq km) in area. The climate is warm and humid with a cyclone season from Dec. to Mar. More than 60% of t…
André Maurois
Maurois, André (Émile Herzog; 1885–1967), 20th-century French author.
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Maury, Matthew Fontaine (1806–73), U.S. naval officer, head of the Depot of Charts and Instruments (1844–61).
Maurya Empire
Maurya Empire, Indian imperial dynasty, 325–183 B.C., founded by Chandragupta Maurya.
Samuel Augustus Maverick
Maverick, Samuel Augustus (1803–70), Texas politician and cattle rancher.
Maxim
Maxim, U.S. family of inventors.
Maximilian
Maximilian, name of 2 Habsburg Holy Roman emperors.
Maximilian
Maximilian (1832–1867), emperor of Mexico from 1864 until his death.
James Clerk Maxwell
Maxwell, James Clerk (1831–79), Scottish theoretical physicist.
Maxwell's rule
Maxwell's rule, law stating that every part of an electric circuit is acted upon by a force tending to move it in such a direction as to enclose the maximum amount of magnetic flux.
May apple
May apple, or may apple (Podophyllum peltatum), woodland plant native to eastern North America.
May beetle
May beetle See: June bug.
May Day
May Day, spring festival on May 1.
Mayas
Mayas, Middle American Indian confederation of Central America, covering the Yucatán peninsula, East Chiapas state in modern Mexico, most of Guatemala, and the western parts of El Salvador and Honduras.
Julius Robert von Mayer
Mayer, Julius Robert von (1814–78), German physician and physicist who contributed (1842) to the formulation of the law of conservation of energy.
Mayflower
Mayflower, ship that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620.
Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact, agreement signed by 41 of the Pilgrims on Nov. 21, 1620.
Mayfly
Mayfly, common insect (order Ephemeroptera) of ponds and rivers.
Mayo
Mayo, U.S. family of surgeons.
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic, one of the world's largest medical centers.
Willie Mays
Mays, Willie (1931– ), U.S. baseball player.
Jules Cardinal Mazarin
Mazarin, Jules Cardinal (1602–61), Italian-born French politician and cardinal.
Maze
Maze See: Labyrinth.
Ivan Mazepa
Mazepa, Ivan (1640?–1709), Cossack chief who vainly aided Charles XII of Sweden against Peter the Great, hoping to win independence for his native Ukraine.
Philip Mazzei
Mazzei, Philip (1730–1816), Italian-born U.S. patriot.
Giuseppe Mazzini
Mazzini, Giuseppe (1805–72), Italian patriot and a leading propagandist of the secret society, the Risorgimento, the nationalist involvement that achieved Italian unification.
Mbabane
Mbabane (pop. 38,600), town, administrative capital of Swaziland.
Tom Mboya
Mboya, Tom (1930–1969), Kenyan political leader.
John Loudon McAdam
McAdam, John Loudon (1756–1836), British engineer and surveyor.
Patrick Anthony McCarran
McCarran, Patrick Anthony (1876–1954), U.S.
Eugene Joseph McCarthy
McCarthy, Eugene Joseph (1916– ), U.S.
Joseph Raymond McCarthy
McCarthy, Joseph Raymond (1908–57), U.S.
Mary McCarthy
McCarthy, Mary (1912–89), U.S. writer, best known for her satirical novel The Group (1963), about the lives of a generation of Vassar graduates.
McCarthyism
McCarthyism, political movement named after Republican Senator Joseph R.
(James) Paul McCartney
McCartney, (James) Paul (1942– ), English singer, guitarist, and songwriter, member of the Beatles (1959–70).
George Brinton McClellan
McClellan, George Brinton (1826–85), controversial Union general in the U.S.
Barbara McClintock
McClintock, Barbara (1902–92), U.S. geneticist.
John Cardinal McCloskey
McCloskey, John Cardinal (1810–85), U.S.
Samuel Sidney McClure
McClure, Samuel Sidney (1857–1949), editor and publisher who founded (1884) the first U.S. newspaper syndicate.
Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure
McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier (1807–73), English arctic explorer and naval officer.
Elmer Verner McCollum
McCollum, Elmer Verner (1879–1967), U.S. biochemist and professor.
John McCormack
McCormack, John (1884–1945), Irish-American tenor.
Cyrus Hall McCormick
McCormick, Cyrus Hall (1809–84), U.S. inventor and industrialist.
Robert Rutherford McCormick
McCormick, Robert Rutherford (1880–1955), U.S. newspaper editor and publisher who became sole owner of the Chicago Tribune after World War I.
Elijah McCoy
McCoy, Elijah (1844?–1929), U.S. engineer and inventor.
John McCrae
McCrae, John (1872–1918), Canadian physician and poet of World War I, famous for his poem “In Flanders Fields,” which was written under fire.
Carson McCullers
McCullers, Carson (1917–67), U.S. writer.
McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v.
John McEnroe
McEnroe, John (1959– ), U.S. tennis player.
Alexander McGillivray
McGillivray, Alexander (1759?–93), Native American leader of the Creek tribe.
George Stanley McGovern
McGovern, George Stanley (1922– ), U.S. senator from South Dakota and the 1972 Democratic presidential candidate.
John Joseph McGraw
McGraw, John Joseph (1873–1934), U.S. professional baseball player and manager.
William Holmes McGuffey
McGuffey, William Holmes (1800–73), U.S. educator and clergyman.
Alexander McKay
McKay, Alexander (?–1811), early Canadian explorer and fur trader.
Claude McKay
McKay, Claude (1890–1948), U.S. poet and novelist born in Jamaica.
Donald McKay
McKay, Donald (1810–80), Canadian-born U.S. naval architect, master builder of clipper ships.
Thomas McKean
McKean, Thomas (1734–1817), U.S. patriot.
Charles Follen McKim
McKim, Charles Follen (1847–1909), U.S. architect, founder of the firm McKim, Mead, and White (1878) and of the American Academy in Rome.
William McKinley
McKinley, William (1843–1901), 25th president of the United States. McKinley—last in a long line of presidents who had fought in the Civil War—led the U.S. during its war with Spain, and presided over a nation emerging from a period of isolation to become a world power. McKinley attended Allegheny College at Meadville, Pa., but illness forced him to return home after a few mon…
Floyd Bixler McKissick
McKissick, Floyd Bixler (1922– ), African-American political leader.
Rod McKuen
McKuen, Rod (1933– ), U.S. poet and songwriter.
John McLoughlin
McLoughlin, John (1784–1857), Canadian pioneer of the Oregon Territory.
Marshall McLuhan
McLuhan, Marshall (1911–80), Canadian professor of humanities and mass communications specialist.
Robert Strange McNamara
McNamara, Robert Strange (1916– ), secretary of defense under presidents Kennedy and Johnson (1961–68), who played an important part in the shaping of U.S. defense policy, including Vietnam War policy.
Aimee Semple McPherson
McPherson, Aimee Semple (1890–1944), U.S. evangelist, famed for her flamboyant preaching.
Margaret Mead
Mead, Margaret (1901–78), U.S. cultural anthropologist known for Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), Growing Up in New Guinea (1930), the Mountain Arapesh (3 vols., 1938–49), and Male and Female (1949), among other works.
George Gordon Meade
Meade, George Gordon (1815–72), Union general of the U.S.
Meadowlark
Meadowlark, common North American field bird of the family Icteridae, with a distinctive black V on its yellow underside.
George Meany
Meany, George (1894–1980), U.S. labor leader, president (1955–79) of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
Measles
Measles, common infectious disease usually seen in children and caused by a virus.
Measuring worm
Measuring worm, also known as inchworm or looper, hairless caterpillar, moth larvae found on every continent.
Meat packing
Meat packing, industry that involves the butchering and processing of meat-producing animals for human consumption.
Mecca
Mecca (Arabic: Makka; pop. 550,000), is the chief city of the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia.
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering See: Engineering.
Media
Media, the plural form of “medium.” The term is used to apply to communication systems, such as books, newspapers, radio, and television.
Medicaid
Medicaid, U.S. government-financed system of medical aid to low-income people under 65.
American Medical Association
Medical Association, American See: American Medical Association.