leather jack: see pompano.

jack-o'-lantern, common name for the mushroom species Clitocybe illudens.

jack-in-the-pulpit: see arum.

jack: see pompano; tuna.

jack, mechanical device used to multiply a relatively small applied force so that it can lift and support heavy loads, or sometimes, move massive objects into a desired position. The lever jack, often used in lifting automobiles, has a lever combined with a ratchet; the lever is used to lift the load a small distance and the ratchet prevents the load from falling back while the lever is reset so that the process can be repeated. In the screw jack the load is moved or lifted by the turning of a screw; the pitch of the screw threads is arranged so that friction is sufficient to hold the load in place when the torque applied to the screw is released. In yet another form of jack a hydraulic device is used. See hydraulic machine.

Yeats, Jack Butler, 1871-1957, Irish painter, son of the painter John Butler Yeats and brother of the poet William Butler Yeats. He began his career as an illustrator and produced his first oils in 1915, choosing literary subjects. His Irish seascapes and landscapes are notable for their loose, spontaneous brush work.

Wilson, Jack: see Wovoka.

Welch, Jack (John Francis Welch, Jr.), 1935-, American business executive, b. Salem, Mass., grad. Univ. of Massachusetts (1957); Univ. of Illinois (M.S., 1958; Ph.D., chemical engineering, 1960). He joined General Electric (GE) in 1960 and became vice president (1972) and then vice chairman (1979). In 1981 he became chairman and CEO of GE; at 45, he was the youngest person ever to have held that position. Under Welch, GE made a series of aquisitions, including RCA with its NBC television network in 1986, that resulted in its becoming the world's largest manufacturing, technology, and service company, with 1999 revenues of over $110 billion. Welch is credited with "reinventing" GE by encouraging decentralization in the organization, plus speed, simplicity, and self-confidence among management, but he was also known as "Neutron Jack" because of the number of employees that were fired or laid off during his tenure. He introduced the "Work Out" concept, a results-focused approach to problem solving. He retired in 2001.

Teagarden, Jack (Weldon Leo Teagarden), 1905-64, American jazz trombonist and singer, b. Vernon, Tex. One of the earliest white bluesmen, he came from a jazz-playing family and was mainly self-taught. He sometimes played with his brothers, trumpeter Charlie and drummer Cub, and sister, pianist Norma. In his twenties Teagarden wandered across America's Southwest, playing in several jazz groups, and arrived in New York in 1927. He played in bands led by Ben Pollack (1928-33), Paul Whiteman (1933-38), and Louis Armstrong (1947-51), and also led his own groups (1939-47; 1951-57). He began recording in the late 1920s and made many albums throughout his career. Teagarden was one of the great horn players of the mid-20th cent.; his trombone playing, seemingly effortless yet extremely accomplished technically, was uniquely smooth and lyrical. In addition, his somewhat gruff, drawling voice was ideal for singing the blues.

Steinberger, Jack, 1921-, American physicist, b. Kissingen, Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1948. He was a professor at Columbia Univ. from 1950 until 1971. In the early 1960s, Steinberger and co-researchers, Leon Lederman and Melvin Schwartz, discovered a new type of neutrino, which is a particle with no detectable electric charge or mass that moves at the speed of light. This led to the development of a new scheme for classifying families of subatomic particles. In 1988, the trio shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.

Sheppard, Jack, 1702-24, English criminal. Raised in a workhouse, he ran away with Bess Lyon, known as Edgeworth Bess, who, with another girl known as Poll Maggott, incited him to a short but spectacular career as a thief and robber. He achieved his greatest fame for his many and astonishing escapes from custody, climaxed by an amazing escape (1724) from Newgate Prison. He was soon apprehended and hanged at Tyburn. His exploits became the subject of numerous narratives and plays, one or two attributed to Daniel Defoe, and he is the hero of W. H. Ainworth's novel Jack Sheppard (1839).

Nicklaus, Jack William, 1940-, American golfer, b. Columbus, Ohio. He began playing golf at the age of 10 and before becoming a professional in late 1961 was considered by many the greatest amateur golfer since Bobby Jones. In his first year as a professional in 1962 he defeated Arnold Palmer in the U.S. Open and won the first World Series of Golf. Capable of hitting drives in excess of 300 yards (270 m), Nicklaus won the Masters six times, the U.S. Open four times, the British Open three times, and the PGA Championship five times.

Nicholson, Jack, 1937-, American film actor, b. Neptune, N.J. After appearing in a series of low-budget movies for some 10 years, he scored his first success with Easy Rider (1969). One of Hollywood's most accomplished actors, adept at both drama and comedy and known for his versatility, charm, and debonair rebelliousness, Nicholson has won Academy Awards for his work in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Terms of Endearment (1983), and As Good as It Gets (1997). His other films include Five Easy Pieces (1970), Chinatown (1974), The Shining (1980), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Ironweed (1987), Batman (1989), A Few Good Men (1992), Hoffa (1992), and About Schmidt (2002). Nicholson has also directed several films, including The Two Jakes (1990), a sequel to Chinatown, in which he also starred.

Lynch, Jack (John Mary Lynch), 1917-99, Irish statesman. Before he embarked on his political career, he gained nationwide fame as an athlete, captaining several winning hurling teams in the 1930s and 40s. He studied law at University College in Cork and at the King's Inns in Dublin and was admitted to the bar in 1945. He entered the Dáil (parliament) in 1948 as a member of the Fianna Fáil party. Beginning in 1951, Lynch rose steadily in the government. He was minister for education (1957-59), for industry and commerce (1959-65), and for finance (1965-66). He demonstrated great ability as a mediator in major labor disputes and in 1966 was elected to succeed Sean F. Lemass as prime minister of the Republic of Ireland. Reelected in 1969, he became involved in a series of tense political disputes over his policy toward the escalating violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland. Lynch also led the republic into the European Community (now the European Union). His party was defeated in the 1973 election, but was returned to power in 1977; he served a second term as prime minister from 1977 to 1979.

London, Jack (John Griffith London), 1876-1916, American author, b. San Francisco. The illegitimate son of an astrologer and a Welsh farm girl, he had a poverty-stricken childhood, brought up by his mother and her husband, John London. At 17, Jack London shipped as an able seaman to Japan and the Bering Sea. He was an oyster pirate, a gold-seeker in the first Klondike rush, a newspaper correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War, and in 1914 a war correspondent in Mexico. His stories, romantic adventures with realistic setting and character, began to appear first in the Overland Monthly. In 1900, The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North was published. London's Klondike tales are exciting, vigorous, and brutal. The Call of the Wild (1903), about a tame dog who eventually leads a wolf pack, is one of the best animal stories ever written. Among his other works are The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1905), and Smoke Bellew (1912). Martin Eden (1909) and Burning Daylight (1910) are partly autobiographical. Although he was a highly paid writer of extremely popular fiction, London, a socialist, considered his social tracts—The People of the Abyss (1903) and The Iron Heel (1907)—as his most important work. The Cruise of the Snark (1911) is a vivid account of his interrupted voyage around the world in a 50-ft (15.2-m) ketch-rigged yacht, and John Barleycorn; or, Alcoholic Memoirs (1913) is autobiographical. Beset in his later years by alcoholism and financial difficulties, London died at the age of 40.

Levine, Jack, 1915-, American painter, b. Boston. Levine began his career with the Federal Arts Project. His paintings treat social themes in a bitter, satirical vein. They are executed with diffused, prismatic textural effects. The persons he portrays are the essence of corruption, withered, distorted, yet glittering. Among his most celebrated paintings are Gangster Funeral (Whitney Mus., New York City), The Feast of Pure Reason and Election Night (both: Mus. of Modern Art, New York City), Welcome Home (Brooklyn Mus.), and The Trial (Art Inst., Chicago).

Lemmon, Jack (John Uhler Lemmon 3d), 1925-2001, American actor, b. Newton, Mass., grad. Harvard (1947). He became famous in roles ranging from sardonic comedy to compelling drama, ultimately achieving the status of a kind of modern American Everyman, often hapless yet persevering. A talented piano player, he worked as a musician and acted in late 1940s and early 50s radio, television, and stage productions. He soon moved on to Hollywood, making his first film in 1954 and attracting wide attention as the likably brash Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts (1955; Academy Award). His other early comedies include Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1950) and The Apartment (1960). In 1962, Lemmon starred as an anguished alcoholic in his first movie drama, the harrowing Days of Wine and Roses. During his career, Lemmon appeared in more than 60 movies, among them The Odd Couple (1968) and its sequel (1998), Save the Tiger (1973; Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Tribute (1980), Missing (1982), JFK (1991), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and Grumpy Old Men (1993) and its sequel (1995). He also continued to act on stage and television, e.g., in Long Day's Journey into Night (1986-87) and the Emmy-winning Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).

Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer), 1921-, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. He excelled at tennis while still in high school. Kramer and Frederick (Ted) Schroeder won the U.S. national doubles championship in 1940 and again in 1941. While serving (1942-46) in the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, Kramer continued to play tournament tennis, and in 1943 (with Frank Parker) he again won the national doubles title. In 1946-47 he led the U.S. teams that won the Davis Cup, and he also won the national singles title, the national doubles (with Ted Schroeder), the British singles, and the British doubles (with Bob Falkenburg). After turning professional (1947), he took the U.S. professional singles (1948), the world professional singles (1949), and (with Bobby Riggs) the world professional doubles (1949) championships. He began promoting professional tennis tournaments in 1952, retiring in 1954 to continue these activities.

Kilby, Jack St. Clair, 1923-2005, American electrical engineer, b. Jefferson City, Mo., B.S. Univ. of Illinois, 1947, M.S. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1950. In 1958, Kilby began working for Texas Instruments (TI), which he had joined in order to devote himself to developing miniaturized electronic components. In Sept., 1958, he demonstrated the first monolithic integrated circuit, or microchip, an invention that led to the greatly reduced cost and size of electronic devices, including the computer, and led to development of the modern information technology industry. (Several months later the achievement was independently duplicated at Fairchild Semiconductor by Robert N. Noyce.) Kilby later shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in physics for his pioneering work on the integrated circuit. He subsequently helped develop the hand-held electronic calculator and the thermal printer before he took (1970) an extended leave from TI. From 1978 to 1984 he was an electrical engineering professor at Texas A&M Univ.; he retired from TI in 1983.

Kerouac, Jack (John Kerouac), 1922-69, American novelist, b. Lowell, Mass., studied at Columbia Univ. One of the leaders of the beat generation, he was the author of the novel On the Road (1957), widely considered the testament of the beat movement. Kerouac's writings reflect a frenetic, restless pursuit of new sensation and experience, and a disdain for the conventional measures of economic and social success. Among his other works are the novels The Subterraneans (1958), The Dharma Bums (1958), Big Sur (1962), and Desolation Angels (1965); a volume of poetry, Mexico City Blues (1959); and a volume describing his dreams, Book of Dreams (1961).

Kemp, Jack French, 1935-, American politician and government official, b. Los Angeles. He played football while at Occidental College (grad. 1957) and thereafter was a professional quarterback for 13 seasons (1957-69), primarily with the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills. While a player, he was a cofounder of the American Football League Players Association and its president from 1965 to 1970. Kemp was elected a U.S. representative from New York in 1970, serving in the House until 1989. A conservative Republican, he attained national prominence as a champion of supply-side economics and urban enterprise zones. He also cowrote the 1981 Kemp-Roth tax cut bill and ran unsuccessfully for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination. From 1989 to 1993 Kemp was secretary of housing and urban development under President George H. W. Bush. Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole chose Kemp as his running mate in 1996, but they lost to the incumbent Clinton-Gore Democratic ticket.

Johnson, Jack (John Arthur Johnson), 1878-1946, American boxer, b. Galveston, Tex., the son of two ex-slaves. Emerging from the battle royals (dehumanizing fights between blacks for the amusement of white patrons) of his youth, he defeated Tommy Burns in 1908 to become the world's first African-American heavyweight champion. After an interracial marriage and his defeat of several white hopefuls, Johnson was convicted in 1913 under contrived circumstances for violation of a federal law. He fled to Europe and remained a champion in exile until he lost in a 1915 bout in Cuba, knocked out in the 26th round by Jess Willard. Upon his return to the United States in 1920, he served a year in prison.

Jack the Ripper, name given to an unidentified late-19th-century murderer in London, England. From Aug. to Nov., 1888, he was responsible for the death and mutilation of at least seven female prostitutes in the East End section of London. The victims had their throats slashed and their bodies mutilated in ways that revealed substantial physiological knowledge, perhaps medical training. Panic ensued, and the inability of the police to stop the crimes, coupled with the authorities' receipt of taunting letters signed "Jack the Ripper," brought on scandal and eventual reforms. The murders ended as suddenly as they had begun; one school of thought is that a Russian sailor, the killer, left London. Over the years the killings have been ascribed to such varied persons as a doctor, a woman, a man in woman's clothing, a well-known painter, or a member of the nobility or even the royal family. The crimes have given rise to many novels, plays, and other dramatic works.

Jack Russell terrier, breed of dog developed in the 19th cent. by an English clergyman, the Reverend John (Parson Jack) Russell, 1795-1883, for hunting. The Jack Russell resembles the fox terrier and, like it, has two varieties, one with a short smooth coat, the other—the Parson Jack Russell terrier—wirehaired. It is a smaller dog than the fox terrier, however, weighing 9 to 18 lb (4 to 8 kg) and standing about 10 to 15 in. (25 to 38 cm) at the shoulder. The color is white with reddish brown, black, or tan markings. The Jack Russell has dark, almond-shaped eyes and V-shaped ears that are carried forward. The terrier is not a recognized American Kennel Club breed and less emphasis has been placed on its conforming to a breed standard than on its abilities as a hunting and companion dog. The breed can become aggressive and destructive if not given the attention and exercise required by a dog bred for hunting.

Dempsey, Jack (William Harrison Dempsey), 1895-1983, American boxer, b. Manassa, Colo. Dempsey, called the "Manassa Mauler," emerged from fights on saloon floors near mining camps to become (1919) the world's heavyweight champion and one of the major sports figures of the 1920s. He sealed his slugging reputation in his first title fight by knocking down the gigantic champion, Jess Willard, seven times in the first three minutes. Dempsey held the crown until losing to Gene Tunney in 1926. In a rematch Dempsey knocked Tunney down in the seventh round, but failed to immediately return to his corner, thus allowing Tunney the benefit of a legendary 14-second "long count." After retirement, he worked occasionally as a referee and spent nearly four decades as proprietor of a popular New York City restaurant.

Captain Jack (d. 1873), subchief of the Modoc and leader of the hostile group in the Modoc War (1872-73). Jack, whose Modoc name was Kintpuash, had agreed (1864) to leave his ancestral home and live on a reservation with the Klamath. He found it impossible to live on friendly terms with his former enemies, and after killing a Klamath medicine man, Jack and a group of followers left the reservation. They resisted arrest (Nov., 1872) and fled into the lava beds in California. Their strong defensive position frustrated numerous attempts by U.S. troops to dislodge them. In Apr., 1873, a peace commission headed by Gen. Edward Richard Sprigg Canby met with Jack and several of his men. At a prearranged signal, Jack shot Canby dead. The army renewed its efforts to capture them and forced the Modoc to take refuge elsewhere. The Modoc, who were tired of fighting, began to give themselves up, and on June 1, Captain Jack was captured. He was taken to Fort Klamath, where on Oct. 3, 1873, he and three of his warriors were hanged for the murder of Canby.

Cade, Jack, d. 1450, English rebel. Of his life very little is known. He may have been of Irish birth; some of his followers called him John Mortimer and claimed he was a cousin of Richard, duke of York. In 1450 he appeared as the leader of a well-organized uprising in the S of England, principally in Kent, usually known as Jack Cade's Rebellion. The protests were mainly political, not social, although the 14th-century Statute of Labourers (which attempted to freeze wages and prices) was among the grievances. Others were the loss of royal lands in France, the extravagance of the court, the corruption of the royal favorites, and the breakdown of the administration of justice. The rebels defeated the royal army at Sevenoaks, entered London, executed Lord Saye and Sele (who was blamed for the losses in France), and sacked several houses. The government then offered pardon to Cade's men and so dispersed them. Cade himself was mortally wounded while resisting arrest.

Benny, Jack, 1894-1974, American comedian, b. Waukegan, Ill., as Benjamin Kubelsky. His shows on radio (1932-55) and television (1950-65) made famous his miserliness, reproachful silences, and violin. His films include To Be or Not to Be (1942).

Beeson, Jack, 1921-, American composer, b. Muncie, Ind. Beeson studied at the Eastman School of Music and privately in New York with Béla Bartók. Beginning to teach at Columbia Univ. in 1945, he was named MacDowell Professor of Music in 1967; he retired in 1988 but returned as a member of the Society of Senior Scholars. Beeson has written songs and choral pieces, piano sonatas, chamber works, and various orchestral works including a symphony (1959). He is particularly known for his operas, which include Hello Out There! (1954), The Sweet Bye and Bye (1957), Lizzie Borden (premiered by the New York City Opera in 1965), My Heart's in the Highlands (premiered on television in 1970), Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1975), Dr. Heidegger's Fountain of Youth (1978), Cyrano (1991), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1999). His vocal works, set to a catholic choice of texts, are marked by a varied stylistic approach unified by attention to contrapuntal lines and instrumental color.

Anderson, Jack (Jackson Northman Anderson), 1922-2005, American newspaper columnist, b. Long Beach, Calif. After serving as a Mormon missionary (1941-44) and a term as a war correspondent during 1945, he was hired by Drew Pearson for the staff of his column, "Washington Merry-Go-Round." Anderson and Pearson later collaborated on The Case against Congress (1969). Anderson took over the column after Pearson's death in 1969 and retired from writing it in 2004. Controversial because of his unorthodox methods of obtaining news stories, Anderson nonetheless uncovered vital information, including facts about the Watergate affair. His reporting on the secret relations between the United States and Pakistan in its war with India won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize. He also revealed information on the Iran-contra affair during the Reagan administration. Anderson interviewed an enormous range of 20th-century figures; his later reporting is considered more moderate than his earlier work.

North American plant (Arisaema triphyllum) of the arum family, noted for the unusual shape of its flower. One of the best-known perennial wildflowers of late spring in the eastern U.S. and Canada, it grows in wet woodlands and thickets from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and south to Florida and Texas. Three-part leaves on each of two long stalks overshadow the flower, which consists of a conspicuous green- and purple-striped structure called a spathe (“pulpit”) that rises on a separate stalk. The spathe curves in a hood over a club-shaped spadix (“jack”) that, at its base, bears minute flowers. In late summer the plant produces a cluster of brilliant red berries that are poisonous to humans but are eaten by many wild animals.

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Any of more than 150 species of fishes (family Carangidae, order Perciformes) found in temperate and tropical portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and occasionally in fresh or brackish water. Though body size and shape vary greatly, many species have small scales that create a smooth appearance, a laterally compressed body, rows of large spiky scales along the side near the tail fin, and a deeply forked tail. Many have a bluish green, silvery, or yellowish sheen. Jacks are important commercially and are favoured sport fishes. Seealso amberjack.

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(born 1858?, Utah Territory, U.S.—died October 1932, Walker River Indian Reservation, Nev.) Paiute religious leader. In 1889 Wovoka announced that during a trance God had told him that his people's ancestors would rise from the dead, buffalo would return to the Plains, and the white man would vanish if the people would perform a ritual dance. This vision was the basis for the Ghost Dance, a millenarian cult that arose and quickly spread to other tribes, notably the militant Sioux. For a period of time, Wovoka was worshiped as a new messiah. After the Wounded Knee massacre, Wovoka's following dissipated and the movement contracted.

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orig. Weldon Leo Teagarden

(born Aug. 20, 1905, Vernon, Texas, U.S.—died Jan. 15, 1964, New Orleans, La.) U.S. jazz trombonist and singer. He worked with two of the most popular bands of the early swing era, those of Ben Pollack (1928–33) and Paul Whiteman (1933–38). After leading his own group (1938–47), he joined Louis Armstrong's All Stars and recorded and toured with them internationally until 1951. Teagarden's trademark relaxed, bluesy approach was evident in both his playing and singing, his engaging Texas accent seeming to colour both.

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(born April 22, 1937, Neptune, N.J., U.S.) U.S. film actor. He acted in low-budget movies before earning acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic lawyer in Easy Rider (1969). He followed that success with such diverse roles as a loner alienated from his family and friends in Five Easy Pieces (1970), a chauvinist in Carnal Knowledge (1971), a detective in Chinatown (1974), and a patient in a mental hospital in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, Academy Award). Nicholson's later movies include the horror film The Shining (1980), Terms of Endearment (1983, Academy Award), the biographical Hoffa (1992), As Good As It Gets (1997, Academy Award), About Schmidt (2002), and The Departed (2006). Noted for his devilish grin and his slow speaking style, he has attained iconic status as one of the most popular and admired stars of his time.

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orig. John Griffith Chaney

(born Jan. 12, 1876, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—died Nov. 22, 1916, Glen Ellen, Calif.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Born to poverty, the largely self-educated London became a sailor, hobo, Alaskan gold miner, and militant socialist. He gained a wide audience with his first book, The Son of the Wolf (1900), and the story “To Build a Fire” (1908). Thereafter he wrote steadily; his 50 books of fiction and nonfiction, including many romantic depictions of elemental struggles for survival as well as socialist tracts, include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906), The Iron Heel (1907), Martin Eden (1909), and Burning Daylight (1910).

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orig. John Uhler Lemmon III

(born Feb. 8, 1925, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died June 27, 2001, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actor. He attended Harvard University and acted in radio and television dramas before making his Broadway debut in 1953. He established his movie career in Mister Roberts (1955, Academy Award) and became noted for his character portrayals, often playing excitable, baffled individuals in movies such as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Odd Couple (1968), and The Out-of-Towners (1970). His many other films include Save the Tiger (1973, Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Missing (1982), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He received an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a dying college professor in the television film Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).

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orig. John Albert Kramer

(born Aug. 1, 1921, Las Vegas, Nev., U.S.) U.S. tennis player and promoter. He won the Wimbledon singles (1947) and men's doubles (1946–47), the U.S. singles (1946–47), men's doubles (1940–41, 1943, 1947), and mixed doubles (1941) and was on the winning Davis Cup team in 1946. He played professional tennis from 1947 to 1952 and was instrumental in promoting open tennis, in which amateurs competed with professionals in major tournaments. He helped establish the Association of Tennis Professionals.

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(born Nov. 8, 1923, Jefferson City, Mo., U.S.—died June 20, 2005, Dallas, Texas) U.S. inventor. He studied at the University of Wisconsin. In 1958 he joined Texas Instruments; there he built the first integrated circuit, a device in which all of a circuit's components are integrated on a single semiconductor surface. He also coinvented a handheld calculator with a thermal printer that is used in portable data terminals. The owner of more than 60 patents, he received the National Medal of Science (1970), the Kyoto Prize (1993), and the Nobel Prize for Physics (2000), shared with Herbert Kroemer and Zhores Alferov.

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orig. Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac

(born March 12, 1922, Lowell, Mass., U.S.—died Oct. 21, 1969, St. Petersburg, Fla.) U.S. poet and novelist. He was born to a French Canadian family and attended Columbia University, where he met Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and others who would become part of the Beat movement, a term Kerouac coined. Kerouac served as a merchant seaman and roamed the U.S. and Mexico before his first book, The Town & the City (1950), was published. On the Road (1957), his best-known novel and the first he wrote in the spontaneous style that he advocated, enjoyed huge success among young readers, for whom Kerouac became a romantic hero. All his works, including The Dharma Bums (1958), The Subterraneans (1958), and Desolation Angels (1965), are autobiographical. Alcoholism contributed to his death at age 47.

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(born July 13, 1935, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) U.S. politician. He played professional gridiron football with the Buffalo (N.Y.) Bills. As a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1971–89), he championed conservative causes but also strongly supported civil rights legislation. After a failed presidential bid in 1988, he was appointed secretary of housing and urban development by Pres. George Bush (1989). In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for vice president on a ticket with Republican Bob Dole.

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in full John Arthur Johnson

(born Mar. 31, 1878, Galveston, Tex., U.S.—died June 10, 1946, Raleigh, N.C.) U.S. boxer, the first black to hold the h1 for the heavyweight championship of the world. Johnson's career was marked from the beginning by racial discrimination; until his match with Tommy Burns, he had a difficult time getting fights. Johnson won the heavyweight crown in 1908 by knocking out Burns and kept it until 1915, when he was knocked out by Jess Willard in 26 rounds. At the height of his career, Johnson was excoriated by the press for having twice married white women, and he further offended white supremacists by knocking out former champion James J. Jeffries, who was induced to come out of retirement as a “Great White Hope.” In 1912 Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act for transporting his wife-to-be across state lines before their marriage. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was released on bond; he fled to Canada, made his way to Europe, and was a fugitive for seven years. He defended the championship three times in Paris before agreeing to fight Willard in Havana, Cuba. Some observers thought that Johnson, mistakenly believing that the charge against him would be dropped if he yielded the championship to a white man, deliberately lost to Willard. Johnson surrendered to U.S. authorities in 1920 to serve a one-year sentence. From 1897 to 1928, Johnson had 114 bouts, winning 80, 45 by knockouts.

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Pseudonymous murderer of at least five women, all prostitutes, in or near London's Whitechapel district, from Aug. 7 to Nov. 10, 1888. The throat of each victim was cut, and usually the body was mutilated in a manner indicating the murderer had considerable knowledge of human anatomy. Authorities received a series of taunting notes from a person calling himself Jack the Ripper and purporting to be the murderer. Although strenuous efforts were made to identify and trap the killer, he remained unknown. The unsolved case retained its hold on the popular imagination, becoming the subject of several motion pictures and more than 100 books, as well as a macabre tourist industry in London.

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orig. Weldon Leo Teagarden

(born Aug. 20, 1905, Vernon, Texas, U.S.—died Jan. 15, 1964, New Orleans, La.) U.S. jazz trombonist and singer. He worked with two of the most popular bands of the early swing era, those of Ben Pollack (1928–33) and Paul Whiteman (1933–38). After leading his own group (1938–47), he joined Louis Armstrong's All Stars and recorded and toured with them internationally until 1951. Teagarden's trademark relaxed, bluesy approach was evident in both his playing and singing, his engaging Texas accent seeming to colour both.

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(born Nov. 8, 1923, Jefferson City, Mo., U.S.—died June 20, 2005, Dallas, Texas) U.S. inventor. He studied at the University of Wisconsin. In 1958 he joined Texas Instruments; there he built the first integrated circuit, a device in which all of a circuit's components are integrated on a single semiconductor surface. He also coinvented a handheld calculator with a thermal printer that is used in portable data terminals. The owner of more than 60 patents, he received the National Medal of Science (1970), the Kyoto Prize (1993), and the Nobel Prize for Physics (2000), shared with Herbert Kroemer and Zhores Alferov.

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(born April 22, 1937, Neptune, N.J., U.S.) U.S. film actor. He acted in low-budget movies before earning acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic lawyer in Easy Rider (1969). He followed that success with such diverse roles as a loner alienated from his family and friends in Five Easy Pieces (1970), a chauvinist in Carnal Knowledge (1971), a detective in Chinatown (1974), and a patient in a mental hospital in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, Academy Award). Nicholson's later movies include the horror film The Shining (1980), Terms of Endearment (1983, Academy Award), the biographical Hoffa (1992), As Good As It Gets (1997, Academy Award), About Schmidt (2002), and The Departed (2006). Noted for his devilish grin and his slow speaking style, he has attained iconic status as one of the most popular and admired stars of his time.

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orig. John Griffith Chaney

(born Jan. 12, 1876, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—died Nov. 22, 1916, Glen Ellen, Calif.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Born to poverty, the largely self-educated London became a sailor, hobo, Alaskan gold miner, and militant socialist. He gained a wide audience with his first book, The Son of the Wolf (1900), and the story “To Build a Fire” (1908). Thereafter he wrote steadily; his 50 books of fiction and nonfiction, including many romantic depictions of elemental struggles for survival as well as socialist tracts, include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906), The Iron Heel (1907), Martin Eden (1909), and Burning Daylight (1910).

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orig. John Uhler Lemmon III

(born Feb. 8, 1925, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died June 27, 2001, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actor. He attended Harvard University and acted in radio and television dramas before making his Broadway debut in 1953. He established his movie career in Mister Roberts (1955, Academy Award) and became noted for his character portrayals, often playing excitable, baffled individuals in movies such as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Odd Couple (1968), and The Out-of-Towners (1970). His many other films include Save the Tiger (1973, Academy Award), The China Syndrome (1979), Missing (1982), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). He received an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a dying college professor in the television film Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).

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orig. John Albert Kramer

(born Aug. 1, 1921, Las Vegas, Nev., U.S.) U.S. tennis player and promoter. He won the Wimbledon singles (1947) and men's doubles (1946–47), the U.S. singles (1946–47), men's doubles (1940–41, 1943, 1947), and mixed doubles (1941) and was on the winning Davis Cup team in 1946. He played professional tennis from 1947 to 1952 and was instrumental in promoting open tennis, in which amateurs competed with professionals in major tournaments. He helped establish the Association of Tennis Professionals.

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orig. Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac

(born March 12, 1922, Lowell, Mass., U.S.—died Oct. 21, 1969, St. Petersburg, Fla.) U.S. poet and novelist. He was born to a French Canadian family and attended Columbia University, where he met Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and others who would become part of the Beat movement, a term Kerouac coined. Kerouac served as a merchant seaman and roamed the U.S. and Mexico before his first book, The Town & the City (1950), was published. On the Road (1957), his best-known novel and the first he wrote in the spontaneous style that he advocated, enjoyed huge success among young readers, for whom Kerouac became a romantic hero. All his works, including The Dharma Bums (1958), The Subterraneans (1958), and Desolation Angels (1965), are autobiographical. Alcoholism contributed to his death at age 47.

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in full John Arthur Johnson

(born Mar. 31, 1878, Galveston, Tex., U.S.—died June 10, 1946, Raleigh, N.C.) U.S. boxer, the first black to hold the h1 for the heavyweight championship of the world. Johnson's career was marked from the beginning by racial discrimination; until his match with Tommy Burns, he had a difficult time getting fights. Johnson won the heavyweight crown in 1908 by knocking out Burns and kept it until 1915, when he was knocked out by Jess Willard in 26 rounds. At the height of his career, Johnson was excoriated by the press for having twice married white women, and he further offended white supremacists by knocking out former champion James J. Jeffries, who was induced to come out of retirement as a “Great White Hope.” In 1912 Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act for transporting his wife-to-be across state lines before their marriage. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was released on bond; he fled to Canada, made his way to Europe, and was a fugitive for seven years. He defended the championship three times in Paris before agreeing to fight Willard in Havana, Cuba. Some observers thought that Johnson, mistakenly believing that the charge against him would be dropped if he yielded the championship to a white man, deliberately lost to Willard. Johnson surrendered to U.S. authorities in 1920 to serve a one-year sentence. From 1897 to 1928, Johnson had 114 bouts, winning 80, 45 by knockouts.

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(born July 13, 1935, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) U.S. politician. He played professional gridiron football with the Buffalo (N.Y.) Bills. As a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1971–89), he championed conservative causes but also strongly supported civil rights legislation. After a failed presidential bid in 1988, he was appointed secretary of housing and urban development by Pres. George Bush (1989). In 1996 he ran unsuccessfully for vice president on a ticket with Republican Bob Dole.

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orig. William Harrison Dempsey

(born June 24, 1895, Manassa, Colo., U.S.—died May 31, 1983, New York, N.Y.) U.S. boxer. Dempsey started fighting in 1914 under the name Kid Blackie. After compiling an impressive number of first-round knockouts, in 1919 he was matched against world heavyweight champion Jess Willard. Dempsey defeated Willard in three rounds. He then held the heavyweight h1 until his defeat by Gene Tunney in 1926 in a 10-round decision. In the next year's rematch, in the famous “Long Count” bout, Dempsey would not go to a neutral corner after knocking Tunney down; this delayed the start of the count against Tunney and gave him extra time to recover and win the fight. Nicknamed the “Manassa Mauler,” Dempsey was known as a ferocious fighter who kept continuously on the offensive. He fought exhibition matches in the 1930s before retiring in 1940; he later became a successful restaurateur. In 84 fights he compiled a record of 62 wins, 51 by knockout.

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orig. Benjamin Kubelsky

(born Feb. 14, 1894, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—died Dec. 27, 1974, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. comedian. He took up the violin as a boy and played it in vaudeville from 1912. After discovering a talent for comedy while in the navy, he returned to vaudeville as a comedian. He made his film debut in 1927 and appeared in 18 films in the years 1930–45. His weekly Jack Benny Program on radio (1932–55) and television (1950–65) won loyal audiences, and he became famous for a unique comic style characterized by subtle verbal inflection, meaningful pauses, seriocomic violin playing, and the stage image of a vain, stingy man.

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orig. William Harrison Dempsey

(born June 24, 1895, Manassa, Colo., U.S.—died May 31, 1983, New York, N.Y.) U.S. boxer. Dempsey started fighting in 1914 under the name Kid Blackie. After compiling an impressive number of first-round knockouts, in 1919 he was matched against world heavyweight champion Jess Willard. Dempsey defeated Willard in three rounds. He then held the heavyweight h1 until his defeat by Gene Tunney in 1926 in a 10-round decision. In the next year's rematch, in the famous “Long Count” bout, Dempsey would not go to a neutral corner after knocking Tunney down; this delayed the start of the count against Tunney and gave him extra time to recover and win the fight. Nicknamed the “Manassa Mauler,” Dempsey was known as a ferocious fighter who kept continuously on the offensive. He fought exhibition matches in the 1930s before retiring in 1940; he later became a successful restaurateur. In 84 fights he compiled a record of 62 wins, 51 by knockout.

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orig. Benjamin Kubelsky

(born Feb. 14, 1894, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—died Dec. 27, 1974, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. comedian. He took up the violin as a boy and played it in vaudeville from 1912. After discovering a talent for comedy while in the navy, he returned to vaudeville as a comedian. He made his film debut in 1927 and appeared in 18 films in the years 1930–45. His weekly Jack Benny Program on radio (1932–55) and television (1950–65) won loyal audiences, and he became famous for a unique comic style characterized by subtle verbal inflection, meaningful pauses, seriocomic violin playing, and the stage image of a vain, stingy man.

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