Crook, George

Crook, George, 1828-90, U.S. general, b. near Dayton, Ohio, grad. West Point, 1852. During the Civil War, Crook commanded a regiment of Ohio volunteers as colonel. After the war he operated so successfully against the Paiute and Snake in Idaho and the Apache in Arizona that he was promoted (1873) to brigadier general in the regular army. Made commander of the Dept. of the Platte in 1875, he was engaged in the hard-fought Sioux War of 1876. In Arizona in 1883, Crook led an expedition into the mountains against a Chiricahua band of the Apache and finally succeeded in persuading Geronimo to return to the reservation (1884). Later, Geronimo broke his pact and escaped, which led to censure of Crook's policies and his voluntary resignation. From 1888 until his death Crook was major general and commander of the Division of the Missouri. Although his fame rested upon his Native American campaigns, Crook also had a reputation for enlightened patience and integrity in dealing with Native American affairs, preferring negotiation to warfare.

Crook can refer to the following:

• Crooking is a verb to refer to the action of creating a bend or curve; for example, crooking a finger. Hence a crook may be anything that is crooked.
• Specifically, a crook is a tool with a crook in it, such as a shepherd's staff, prelate's crosier, or used in securing a laid Devon hedge; see also flail and crook.
• In music, a crook is a length of tubing used to change the pitch of a natural brass instrument. Musicians who play the natural (French) horn or natural trumpet (the predecessors to the modern (French) horn and trumpet) insert crooks into the instrument to change its length and, hence, its pitch. A crook is also the term for a bent or curved pipe that connects the reed to the instrument body on some double reed instruments; in American usage this is generally called a bocal.
• Crook, a slang term for a criminal or a person of questionable morality. Specifically it refers to someone who is corrupt and uses dishonest or unethical tactics to gain money. The adjective crooked can refer to such persons or actions. This version of the term may also be archaically used as a verb in reference to becoming a criminal or causing another to become a criminal.
• Biblically, "crooked" meant "twisted", "corrupt", or "not straight".
• Crooked Music (Schräge Musik) was a very effective firing system developed by the Germans in World War II which allowed their fighter aircraft to shoot down Allied bombers.
• In Australian slang, crook (adjective) means unwell (amongst other meanings).

Places

• Crook, County Durham, England
• Crook, Cumbria, England
• Crook, Devon, England
• Crook, Crook of Devon, Scotland
• Crook, Colorado, United States
• Crook County, Oregon, United States
• Crooks Inlet, Nunavut, Canada

Persons

• Ann Marie Crooks, a female bodybuilder and professional wrestler
• George Crook, an American general
• Mackenzie Crook, a British actor
• William Crookes, English chemist

Things

• Crook can refer to the crozier carried by a bishop or abbot
• Shepherd's staff
• Crooked grind, a skateboarding trick.
• Crook frame, a form of timber frame