Mercer encyclopedia topics

MERCER - 6 reference results

Mercer
Find Answers About Mercer Infection Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, More.
Sponsored Results Blurtit.com

Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer), 1909-76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most accomplished wordsmiths, began writing songs as a teenager; in 1929 he moved to New York City, where he worked as an actor and a singer. In 1933 he had his first hit, "Lazybones," with music by Hoagy Carmichael. Two years later he moved to Hollywood, where he wrote lyrics for numerous musicals and other movies. Collaborating with Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, and others, he wrote the words for such classics as "Hooray for Hollywood" (1937), "Blues in the Night" (1941), "Skylark" (1942), "One for My Baby" (1943), and "Come Rain or Come Shine" (1946). He was nominated for 18 best-song Oscars and won 4 times, including for "Moon River" in 1961 and "Days of Wine and Roses" in 1962, both with music by Henry Mancini. Mercer also cofounded (1942) Capitol Records.

See biographies by P. Furia (2003) and G. Lees (2004).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Mercer, Hugh

Mercer, Hugh, c.1725-1777, American Revolutionary general, b. Aberdeen, Scotland. A physician, he was a surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) and after the defeat at Culloden (1746) emigrated to America. In the French and Indian Wars, Mercer served with Edward Braddock (1755) and John Forbes (1758) in their expeditions against Fort Duquesne. Mercer moved to Virginia, and, at the start of the American Revolution, helped organize the Virginia militia. He fought at Trenton (1776) and was mortally wounded at Princeton (Jan. 3, 1777).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro

Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro, 1809-87, American statesman, b. Essex co., Va. He was a U.S. Representative for Virginia (1837-43, 1845-47), serving as speaker from 1839 to 1841. Hunter became a leading states' rights Democrat and supported John C. Calhoun for the presidency in 1844. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1847, where he became a prominent spokesman for the Southern cause. He resigned in 1861 to become the Confederate secretary of state (1861-62) and then a Confederate senator (1862-65). He participated in 1865 in the futile Hampton Roads Peace Conference. Imprisoned for several months after the war, Hunter helped organize (1867) a conservative party that won control of the Virginia state government from the radicals in 1869.

See C. H. Ambler, ed., Correspondence of Robert M. T. Hunter, 1826-1876 (1918); biography by H. H. Simms (1935).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Mercer, Johnny

orig. John Herndon Mercer

(born Nov. 18, 1909, Savannah, Ga., U.S.—died June 25, 1976, Bel Air, Calif.) U.S. songwriter. After moving to New York City in the late 1920s, Mercer began to write lyrics while supporting himself as an actor. He later joined Paul Whiteman's orchestra as singer and master of ceremonies. In 1939 he joined Benny Goodman's Camel Caravan radio show. In 1942 Mercer cofounded Capitol Records. On Broadway, he collaborated with Harold Arlen on St. Louis Woman (1946) and Saratoga (1959) and also provided lyrics for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Li'l Abner (1956), and Foxy (1964). His songs for films won four Academy Awards. He collaborated with composers such as Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, Jerome Kern, and Jimmy Van Heusen and is credited with more than 1,000 lyrics, including those for “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive,” “One for My Baby,” “Autumn Leaves,” and “Moon River.”

Learn more about Mercer, Johnny with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Hughes, (James Mercer) Langston

Langston Hughes, photograph by Jack Delano, 1942.

(born Feb. 1, 1902, Joplin, Mo., U.S.—died May 22, 1967, New York, N.Y.) U.S. poet and writer. He published the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” when he was 19, briefly attended Columbia University, and worked on an Africa-bound freighter. His literary career was launched when Hughes, working as a busboy, presented his poems to Vachel Lindsay as he dined. Hughes's poetry collections include The Weary Blues (1926) and Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951). His later The Panther and the Lash (1967) reflects black anger and militancy. Among his other works are short stories (including “The Ways of White Folks,” 1934), autobiographies, many works for the stage, anthologies, and translations of poetry by Federico García Lorca and Gabriela Mistral. His well-known comic character Jesse B. Semple, called Simple, appeared in his newspaper columns.

Learn more about Hughes, (James Mercer) Langston with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.