Whorf, Benjamin Lee, 1897-1941, American linguist and anthropologist, b. Winthrop, Mass. Although he was trained in chemical engineering and worked for an insurance company, Whorf made substantial contributions to Mayan and Aztec linguistics. He collaborated with Edward Sapir at Yale Univ. in anthropological linguistics, and helped to develop the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Also known as the linguistic relativity principle, the theory argues against the view that the categories and distinctions of any given language are natural and given by external reality. Instead, it posits language as a finite array of formal (lexical and grammatical) categories that group an infinite variety of experiences into usable classes, vary across cultures, and, as a guide to the interpretation of experiences, influence thought.

Washington, Harold Lee, 1922-87, African-American politician, b. Chicago. A lawyer, he entered Illinois state government in 1965 as a Democratic representative, becoming state senator in 1976. In 1980 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Running for mayor of Chicago as a progressive candidate, he defeated sitting mayor Jane Byrne in the primary and went on to win the 1983 general election. The first African American to hold the office, Washington won reelection in 1987 but died seven months later.

Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Va.; coeducational; founded and opened 1749 as Augusta Academy. It was called Liberty Hall in 1776; became Liberty Hall Academy (a college) in 1782, Washington Academy (following a gift from George Washington) in 1798, Washington College in 1813; and assumed its present name in 1871. Robert E. Lee was president from 1865 to 1870, and his tomb is in the university chapel. The university's front campus is a national historic landmark. Washington and Lee is noted for its law school.

Udall, Stewart Lee, 1920-, U.S. cabinet member, b. St. Johns, Ariz. After serving in World War II, Udall practiced law in Tucson until elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954. As a member of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs he gained a reputation as a conservationist and as an advocate of public works. An early supporter of John F. Kennedy for the presidency, he became in Jan., 1961, the first Arizonan to hold a cabinet post. As Secretary of the Interior under both Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, he stressed government dam building to generate increased public power and advocated enlargement of the national park system. He subsequently wrote a syndicated newspaper column.

Trevino, Lee, 1939-, American golfer, b. Dallas, Tex. Personable, witty, and extremely popular, he won the U.S. Open twice (1968 and 1971), the British Open twice (1971-72), and the PGA Championship twice (1974 and 1984) before becoming a star of the Seniors tour.

Thorndike, Edward Lee, 1874-1949, American educator and psychologist, b. Williamsburg, Mass., grad. Wesleyan Univ., 1895, and Harvard, 1896, Ph.D. Columbia, 1898. Appointed instructor in genetic psychology at Teachers College, Columbia, in 1899, he served there until 1940 (as professor from 1904 and as director of the division of psychology of the Institute of Educational Research from 1922). His great contributions to educational psychology were largely in the methods he devised to test and measure children's intelligence and their ability to learn. He conducted studies in animal psychology and the psychology of learning, and compiled dictionaries for children (1935) and for young adults (1941). The great number of his writings includes Educational Psychology (1903), Mental and Social Measurements (1904), Animal Intelligence (1911), A Teacher's Word Book (1921), Your City (1939), and Human Nature and the Social Order (1940).

Strasberg, Lee, 1901-82, American theatrical director, teacher, and actor, b. Budzanów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Budaniv, Ukraine) as Israel Strassberg. Strasberg immigrated to New York City in 1909. He was a cofounder in 1931 of the Group Theatre. There until 1937, he initiated training in "the Method," a process of acting based on Stanislavsky's teachings. Among the world's foremost teachers of acting, Strasberg was closely associated with The Actors Studio in New York and became its director in 1950. He acted in movies in his later life, notably The Godfather Part II (1974).

Richardson, Elliot Lee, 1920-99, U.S. government official, b. Boston. Admitted to the bar in 1949, he was (1957-59) assistant secretary of health, education and welfare under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Richardson was later active as a Republican in Massachusetts state politics, serving as lieutenant governor (1965-67) and attorney general (1967-69). He became (1970) secretary of health, education, and welfare under President Richard M. Nixon and supported the administration's cutbacks in social welfare programs and its conservative approach to school desegregation. After serving briefly (1973) as secretary of defense, Richardson was appointed attorney general, but he resigned on Oct. 20, 1973, rather than carry out President Nixon's order to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox (see Watergate affair). He was also U.S. ambassador to Great Britain (1975-76) and secretary of commerce (1976-77) under President Gerald Ford, making him the first person to hold four different cabinet posts; and U.S. ambassador-at-large (1977-80) under President Jimmy Carter. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Rice, Jerry Lee, 1962-, American football player, b. Crawford, Miss. Winning national attention while at the otherwise obscure Mississippi Valley State College, Itta Bena, Miss., Rice subsequently played professionally with the San Francisco 49ers (1985-2001), the Oakland Raiders (2001-2004), and the Seattle Seahawks (2004). One of the game's most durable players, he became the NFL's oldest ever wide receiver and one of its greatest players. At his retirement he held career records for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), touchdowns (208), and receiving touchdowns (197) during the regular season and season records for receiving yards (1,848) and receiving touchdowns (22). Rice was rookie of the year for the 1985 season, most valuable player for 1987, Super Bowl most valuable player in 1989, and NFL player of the year for 1990 and 1997, and helped the 49ers win three Super Bowls (1989-90, 1995).

Reno, Jesse Lee, 1823-62, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Wheeling, Va. (now W.Va.). He was twice brevetted for his service in the Mexican War. In the Civil War, Reno was made a brigadier general of volunteers (Nov., 1861) and commanded a brigade in Ambrose Burnside's expedition to North Carolina (1861-62). Promoted to major general (July, 1862), he led the 9th Corps at the second battle of Bull Run, at Chantilly, and at South Mt., where he was killed on Sept. 14, 1862. Reno, Nev., was named for him.

Oswald, Lee Harvey, 1939-63, presumed assassin of John F. Kennedy, b. New Orleans. Oswald spent most of his boyhood in Fort Worth, Tex. Later, he attended a Dallas high school, and enlisted (1956) in the Marines and served until 1959. A Marxist, he went to the Soviet Union in 1959 declaring his intention to renounce his American citizenship. In 1962 he returned to the United States, bringing his Russian wife and young daughter. In succeeding months, Oswald moved around the country, finally coming back to Dallas, where, in Oct., 1963, he obtained a job at the Texas State School Book Depository. From that building apparently shots were fired that took President Kennedy's life on Nov. 22, 1963. Oswald fled the scene. Later that afternoon, a policeman trying to accost him was shot and killed. Oswald was later arrested and charged with both murders. On Nov. 24, while in police hands, Oswald was murdered by a nightclub proprietor, Jack Ruby. In 1964 the Warren Commission held Oswald to be the sole assassin.

McBain, Howard Lee, 1880-1936, American political scientist, b. Toronto, Ont., grad. Richmond (Va.) College, 1900, Ph.D. Columbia, 1907. After teaching at George Washington and Wisconsin universities, he became, in 1913, associate professor of municipal science and administration and, in 1917, professor of constitutional law at Columbia. In 1929 he was made dean of the graduate faculties at Columbia. An authority on constitutional law, he revised (1933) the Cuban electoral code. His books include The Law and the Practice of Municipal Home Rule (1916), American City Progress and the Law (1917), The New Constitutions of Europe (with Lindsay Rogers, 1922), and The Living Constitution (1927).

Masters, Edgar Lee, 1869-1950, American poet and biographer, b. Garnett, Kans. He maintained a successful law practice in Chicago from 1892 to 1920. Masters's Spoon River Anthology (1915), a collection of epitaphs in free verse revealing the secret lives of dead citizens, was acclaimed for its treatment of small-town American life. Less successful volumes that followed include Starved Rock (1919), Domesday Book (1920), Poems of People (1936), and Illinois Poems (1941). His Lincoln the Man (1931) is a bitter and prejudiced attack. Other biographies are Vachel Lindsay (1935), Whitman (1937), and Mark Twain (1938).

Lewis, Jerry Lee, 1935-, American singer and composer, b. Ferriday, La. Combining country music elements with an energetic performance style, he was an early star of rock music. His songs include "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire." Hailed as an innovator and a rowdy old master of rock, he continues to perform and record.

Lee, Yuan Tseh, 1936-, Taiwanese-American chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of California at Berkeley, 1965. In 1986, Lee shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Dudley R. Herschbach and John C. Polanyi for helping to apply the technology and theory of physics to chemistry. In his research, Lee extended Herschbach's "crossed molecular beam technique" to analyze larger and more complex molecules.

Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh, known as Rooney Lee, 1837-91, Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, b. Arlington House, near Alexandria, Va.; son of Robert E. Lee. He entered Harvard in 1854 but left in 1857 when he secured a commission in the infantry. After serving under Albert S. Johnston in the campaign against the Mormons, he resigned (1859) and lived at White House, his Virginia plantation, until the Civil War. Like his cousin Fitzhugh Lee, Rooney served in J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry. Wounded at Brandy Station in June, 1863, he was subsequently captured. Upon his exchange in Mar., 1864, he was promoted to major general and served until the end of the war. From 1887 to his death, Lee was a Democratic Representative in Congress.

Lee, William, 1739-95, American Revolutionary diplomat, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, and Richard H. Lee. He opened a business house in London in 1768 and later was a political supporter of John Wilkes and became (1775) an alderman of London. He accepted appointment by the Continental Congress as an agent for the newly created United States, and later attempted unsuccessfully to obtain recognition from both Austria and Prussia. He and a Dutch merchant made a draft of a possible U.S.-Dutch commercial treaty. The draft, which had no official sanction at all, Lee sent back to America. A copy of it, seized by the British when they captured Henry Laurens, was used as a cause for warfare between Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Lee, Tsung-Dao, 1926-, American physicist, b. China, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1950. He was a member (1951-53) of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; and professor of theoretical physics there (1960-63). He also served as professor at Columbia (1953-60, 1963-). Lee is known for his studies in statistical mechanics, elementary particles, and astrophysics. He shared with Chen-ning Yang the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for researches refuting the law of conservation of parity.

Lee, Spike (Shelton Jackson Lee), 1957-, American filmmaker, b. Atlanta, Ga. He gained recognition as a student at New York Univ. with his graduation film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1982). His films usually celebrate the richness of African-American culture and address such problems as racism, sexism, and narcotics addiction. She's Gotta Have It (1986), a low-budget film mainly about sexual relations and attitudes, established Lee as a commercially viable director. His Do the Right Thing (1989) presented the complexities and tensions behind interracial relations. Many of his later films have been controversial—Jungle Fever (1991), an exploration of interracial relations and attitudes; Malcolm X (1992), based on the life of the African-American leader; Clockers (1995), a violent portrait of life at the lowest reaches of the drug underworld; Girl 6 (1996), a high-spirited portrayal of a young woman in the phone sex business; and The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), a series of racially charged stand-up routines by four contemporary African-American comedians. Lee broke with his traditional style and subject matter to make Inside Man (2006), a polished heist movie, and he turned to documentary with made-for-TV When the Levees Broke (2006), a harrowing portrayal of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans.

Lee, Sir Sidney, 1859-1926, English editor and author. He was editor (1891-1901) of the Dictionary of National Biography but is best known for his Life of William Shakespeare (1898, rev. ed. 1925), which was an enlargement of his work for the Dictionary. Lee was knighted in 1911.

Lee or Legh, Rowland, d. 1543, English bishop. Educated at Cambridge, he received preferments under the patronage of Cardinal Wolsey, who employed him in the suppression of the monasteries (1528-29). He was greatly esteemed by Henry VIII and is believed to have performed the ceremony of Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn (1533). He was made (1534) bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and president of the council of the marches in Wales, where he proved to be an efficient administrator. He was one of the first bishops to take the oath of supremacy recognizing Henry as head of the church.

Lee, Rooney: see Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh.

Lee, Robert Edward, 1807-70, general in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War, b. Jan. 19, 1807, at Stratford, Westmoreland co., Va.; son of Henry ("Light-Horse Harry") Lee.

Pre-Civil War Career

After graduating second in his class from West Point in 1829, Lee was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He married (1831) Mary Anne Randolph Custis, a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, and Arlington House, her father's residence in Virginia, was their home until the Civil War (see Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial). In the Mexican War, Lee made a brilliant record as captain of engineers with Gen. Winfield Scott's army, winning three brevets; his reconnaissances during the advance on Mexico City were important to the American success.

Lee was superintendent at West Point from 1852 to 1855, when he was made lieutenant colonel of the 2d Cavalry and sent to W Texas. He commanded that regiment from 1857 to 1861. While at Arlington House on an extended leave, he was called to lead the company of U.S. marines that captured John Brown at Harpers Ferry in Oct., 1859.

Civil War Leadership

In Feb., 1861 (after the secession of the lower South), General Scott, with whom Lee was a great favorite, recalled him from Texas. Lee had no sympathy with either secession or slavery and, loving the Union and the army, deprecated the thought of sectional conflict. But in his tradition, loyalty to Virginia came first, and upon Virginia's secession he resigned (Apr. 20, 1861) from the army. His resolve not to fight against the South had already led him to decline (Apr. 18) the field command of the U.S. forces.

On Apr. 23 he assumed command of the military and naval forces of Virginia, which he organized thoroughly before they were absorbed by the Confederacy. Lee then became military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and was made a Confederate general. After the failure of his efforts to coordinate the activity of Confederate forces in the western part of Virginia (July-Oct., 1861), Lee organized the S Atlantic coast defenses.

In Mar., 1862, Davis recalled him to Richmond. Lee's plan to prevent reinforcements from reaching Gen. George B. McClellan, whose army was threatening Richmond, was brilliantly executed by T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. When Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at Fair Oaks in the Peninsular campaign, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia (June 1, 1862). His leadership of that army through the next three years has placed him among the world's great commanders.

Lee immediately took the offensive, and after ending McClellan's threat to Richmond in the Seven Days battles (June 26-July 2), he thoroughly defeated John Pope at the second battle of Bull Run (Aug. 29-30). McClellan, however, checked him in his first Northern invasion, the Antietam campaign (Sept.). Advances by Ambrose E. Burnside and Joseph Hooker were brutally repulsed in the battles of Fredericksburg (Dec. 13; see Fredericksburg, battle of) and Chancellorsville (May 2-4, 1863), though in the latter victory Lee lost his ablest lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson.

Lee's second invasion of the North resulted in the Confederate defeat in the Gettysburg campaign (June-July). He sorely missed the services of Jackson, and some historians attribute his defeat at Gettysburg to the failures of his subordinates, particularly James Longstreet. Other authorities argue that Lee underestimated his opposition and failed to impose his will upon his subordinates. Lee assumed full blame for the defeat, but Davis refused to entertain his offer of resignation. After Gettysburg, Lee did not engage in any major campaign until May, 1864, when Ulysses S. Grant moved against him. He repulsed Grant's direct assaults in the Wilderness campaign (May-June), but was not strong enough to turn him back, and in July, 1864, Grant began the long siege of Petersburg.

Lee's appointment as general in chief of all Confederate armies came (Feb., 1865) when the Confederacy had virtually collapsed. On Apr. 2, the Army of the Potomac broke through the Petersburg defenses, and Lee's forces retreated. One week later Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse (see under Appomattox).

After the war Lee became president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee Univ.). Although President Andrew Johnson never granted him the official amnesty for which he applied, Lee nevertheless urged the people of the South to work for the restoration of peace and harmony in a united country.

Character and Influence

Many historians consider Robert E. Lee the greatest general of the Civil War, and it is generally agreed that his military genius, hampered though it was by lack of men and materiel, was a principal factor in keeping the Confederacy alive. Others point out, however, that he never developed a coordinated overall strategy, that he failed to provide an adequate supply system for his armies, and that he was reluctant to deal with difficult subordinates, such as Longstreet. Of admirable personal character, Lee was idolized by his soldiers and the people of the South and soon won the admiration of the North. He has remained an ideal of the South and an American hero, although some late 20th cent. historians have tended toward a more critical view of him as a general and as a man.

Lee, Richard Henry, 1732-94, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, and William Lee. He served in the house of burgesses (1758-75), where he favored ending the slave trade. An opponent of the Stamp Act (1765), he was the leader in the formation of a nonimportation organization. To help unite colonial resistance further, he advocated, and helped to form, the intercolonial committees of correspondence. As a member (1774-79) of the Continental Congress, he was most active in promoting a nonimportation agreement. Lee was a member (with John Adams and Edward Rutledge) of the committee that placed George Washington in command of the Continental Army. He was also vigorous in arguing for independence and introduced the motion that led to the Declaration of Independence, which he later signed. Lee served again in the Continental Congress (1784-87). He opposed the U.S. Constitution because he feared that it would destroy states' rights. As U.S. Senator from Virginia (1789-92) Lee was largely responsible for adoption of the first 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights) to the Constitution.

Lee, Richard, 1613?-1664, American colonist, founder of the Lee family of Virginia. A member of the Coton branch of the Lees of Shropshire, England, he immigrated (c.1642) to Virginia, settling first in York co. and later in Northumberland co. A tobacco planter, Lee became wealthy and was an important figure in Virginia, being at various times justice, burgess, member of the council, attorney general, and secretary of state.

Lee, Peggy, 1920-2002, American singer and songwriter, b. Jamestown, N.D., as Norma Deloris Egstrom. Lee became famous for her singular voice—sexy, subtle, simultaneously smoky and cool—and her unique jazz-inflected interpretations of popular tunes. She began singing as a teenager and hit the big time in 1941 when Benny Goodman hired her. She scored her first big hit in 1942 with "Why Don't You Do Right?" Leaving Goodman's band in 1943, she became a solo act and cowrote (with husband Dave Barbour) and performed a number of popular songs including "It's a Good Day" (1947) and the 1948 chart-topper "Mañana." Lee wrote or cowrote more than 200 songs and recorded more than 600, among them the sultry "Fever" (1958) and "Is That All There Is?" (1969), her late-career anthem. Lee was in several films, notably acting in The Jazz Singer (1952) and Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), voiced such animated features as The Lady and the Tramp (1955), appeared on numerous television programs, and continued to perform into the 1990s.

Lee, Nathaniel, 1653-92, English dramatist. After failing as an actor, he turned to writing plays. Lee confined himself entirely to tragedy, turning often to the classical historians for the background of his plays. His most famous work, the blank-verse tragedy The Rival Queens (produced in 1677), deals with the jealousy between the wives of Alexander the Great. His plays, which were extremely popular in his time, are marked by bombast and extravagance.

Lee, Light-Horse Harry: see Lee, Henry.

Lee, Jesse, 1758-1816, American Methodist clergyman, b. Virginia. He is known as the apostle of Methodism in New England where, from 1789 to 1798, his labors as an itinerant preacher over a wide area met with signal success. After serving (1797-1800) as assistant to Bishop Asbury, Lee was appointed presiding elder of the South District of Virginia in 1801. He served three terms as chaplain in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. His Short History of Methodism in America (1810) is the first history of American Methodism.

Lee, Henry, 1756-1818, American Revolutionary soldier, known as Light-Horse Harry Lee, b. Prince William co., Va. He was a cousin of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, Richard H. Lee, and William Lee and was the father of Robert E. Lee. As a cavalry commander he established an enviable record in the Revolution. He first gained wide notice for his capture of the fort at Paulus Hook (now in Jersey City), N.J., on Aug. 19, 1779. His service under Nathanael Greene after 1780 in the Carolina campaign was notable for daring and brilliance and he distinguished himself at Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs. After the war he was elected (1785) to Congress. He favored a stronger government and in 1788 was a leader in the struggle to have Virginia ratify the Constitution. He was (1791-94) governor of Virginia, and in 1794 he commanded the troops who suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion. A Federalist Congressman (1799-1801), he was author of the description of George Washington as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen" in the resolutions on the first President's death. A poor business manager, Lee was imprisoned (1808-9) for debt. In 1812 he was severely injured when an angry mob dragged Alexander Hanson, Lee, and others from a jail where they had gone for protection after Hanson's Federalist newspaper had denounced President Madison and the War of 1812. He wrote Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department (1812, repr. 1869 with a biographical sketch by Robert E. Lee).

Lee, George Washington Custis, 1832-1913, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Fort Monroe, Va.; eldest son of Robert E. Lee. He served in the Corps of Engineers until May, 1861, when he resigned to fight for the Confederacy. Aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis through most of the Civil War, he was promoted to major general in 1864. In the last days of the war, Lee commanded a brigade and was captured in the fighting at Sailor's Creek (Apr., 1865). He was professor of civil and military engineering at the Virginia Military Institute (1865-71) and, succeeding his father, president of Washington and Lee Univ. (1871-97).

Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 1734-97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur, Richard H., and William Lee. While a member of the house of burgesses (1758-76), he urged resistance to Great Britain in the disturbances leading to the Revolution. He served in the Continental Congress (1775-79) and the Virginia senate (1780-82), and later he supported the U.S. Constitution.

Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905, Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, b. "Clermont," Fairfax co., Va.; nephew of Robert E. Lee. He campaigned against the Comanche in Texas and later was an instructor at West Point when Virginia seceded in May, 1861. He immediately resigned his commission to serve his state. In the Civil War, Lee was made a brigadier general (1862) for his part in the raid led by J. E. B. Stuart around George B. McClellan's army, and he brilliantly covered the Confederate retreat in the Antietam campaign (1862). In a cavalry engagement at Kelly's Ford in Mar., 1863, his brigade opposed the superior Union force under Gen. William W. Averell. His discovery of the weakness of Joseph Hooker's right led to Stonewall Jackson's successful flanking movement in the battle of Chancellorsville (May, 1863). Lee was with Stuart in the Gettysburg and Wilderness campaigns (1863, 1864). He was promoted to major general in Sept., 1863. Sent to support Jubal A. Early in the Shenandoah Valley in Aug., 1864, Lee was wounded at Winchester and did not return to active service until Jan., 1865. He was chief of the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia in the last days of the war and covered the retreat to Appomattox. He was (1886-90) governor of Virginia, and in 1896 President Cleveland appointed him consul general at Havana. Lee won national approval by his conduct in the difficult period preceding the Spanish-American War, and in that conflict he was a major general of volunteers. He was military governor of Havana after the war and later commanded the Dept. of the Missouri. He wrote a biography of his uncle (1894).

Lee, Charles, 1731-82, American Revolutionary army officer, b. Cheshire, England. He first came to America to serve in the French and Indian War and took part in General Braddock's disastrous campaign (1755), in the unsuccessful campaign against Ticonderoga (1758), and in the capture of Montreal (1760). His duties as a British officer later took him to Portugal under Gen. John Burgoyne (1762) and to Poland. In 1773 he went to Virginia to live and became a supporter of colonial independence. At the start of the American Revolution his military experience won him a commission as major general in the Continental army. After directing the fortification of New York City early in 1776, he went to Charleston, S.C., and received credit for the successful defense of that city, despite his having advised William Moultrie to abandon the fort that saved the city. Returning to New York, he repeatedly disregarded General Washington's command to cross the Hudson River in the retreat after the battle of White Plains, in the hope that he could win a personal success and replace Washington as commander in chief. When he did cross he was captured (Dec. 13, 1776) by the British at Basking Ridge, N.J. As a captive he gave Gen. William Howe a plan for defeating the Americans, but his treason was not discovered. Lee was exchanged and joined Washington at Valley Forge (1778). At the battle of Monmouth (1778) he ordered a retreat of his forces and thus prevented an American victory. The rout was stemmed only by Washington, Baron von Steuben, and Nathanael Greene. A court-martial resulted in a year's suspension from command for Lee, who continued to criticize Washington abusively. In 1780 he was finally dismissed from service. His papers have been published by the New-York Historical Society (1872-75).

Lee, Arthur, 1740-92, American Revolutionary diplomat, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Francis L. Lee, Richard H. Lee, and William Lee. Educated in Great Britain, he returned to Virginia to practice medicine, but soon decided to study law and went (1768) to London. There, like William Lee, he became a partisan of John Wilkes and a political pamphleteer. In 1770 he became agent for Massachusetts in London. After the outbreak of the American Revolution, he was made a commissioner for the Continental Congress to seek foreign aid. In 1777 he went to Spain, but was unable to obtain a formal treaty; he was also refused recognition at the Prussian court in Berlin. With Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane he helped persuade Pierre de Beaumarchais to act as agent for supplying aid to the rebellious colonials. In Paris, however, he quarreled with Franklin and Deane, and his unfavorable reports to Congress resulted in the recall of Deane and a halt on payments to Beaumarchais. In 1779 he was recalled. He later served in the Continental Congress.

Lee, Ann, 1736-84, English religious visionary, founder of the Shakers in America. Born in Manchester, she worked there in the cotton factories and then became a cook. In 1762 she was married to Abraham Stanley, a blacksmith. In 1758 she had joined the "Shaking Quakers." Claiming revelation in a vision (c.1770) that the second coming of Christ was fulfilled in her, she became their accepted leader and was known as Ann the Word or Mother Ann. Although illiterate, she claimed the gift of tongues and the ability to discern spirits and work miracles. She was also convinced of the holiness of celibacy. In 1774 she led a band of eight to America, where, two years later, at Watervliet, N.Y., the first Shaker settlement in America was founded.

Lee, Ang, 1954-, Taiwanese filmmaker. Lee is one of the few directors who have achieved commercial and critical success in Asia and the United States, and is also unusual in the wide range of genres and themes he has explored. His first three films, Pushing Hands (1992), The Wedding Banquet (1993), and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), all with screenplays by Lee and either bilingual or in Chinese, are deft domestic comedies that revolve around generational and cultural differences. His first English-language feature was an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1995); it was followed by The Ice Storm (1997), a somber, darkly comic tale of the American suburbs. The Chinese-language martial-arts fantasy Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000; Academy Award, Best Foreign Language Film) was an international hit, but Lee achieved his greatest success to date with Brokeback Mountain (2005; Academy Award, Best Director), a story of the ill-fated love of two cowboys for each other, based on a story by E. Annie Proulx. The Chinese-language Lust, Caution (2007), is a World War II spy thriller.

Lee of Fareham, Arthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount, 1868-1947, British politician. He was (1900-1918) a Conservative member of the House of Commons. During World War I, Lee was military secretary to David Lloyd George (1916) and director-general of food production (1917-18). He was later minister of agriculture (1919-21), first lord of the admiralty (1921-22), and a delegate to the Washington Naval Conference (1921-22). He was raised to the peerage in 1918. In 1921 he presented Chequers, his estate, to the nation as a country residence for the prime minister.

Lee Teng-hui, 1923-, Taiwanese agricultural economist and politician, president of Taiwan (1988-2000). Born in Taiwan when it was ruled by Japan, he was educated at Kyoto Imperial, Iowa State, and Cornell universities. A member of the Kuomintang, he served on the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction (1957-61) and as a minister without portfolio (1972-78), mayor of Taipei (1978-81), governor of Taiwan province (1981-84), and vice president of Taiwan (1984-88). In Jan., 1988, he succeeded to the presidency at Chiang Ching-kuo's death. Although originally considered an interim figure, he continued the democratization of Taiwan and in 1996 became its first popularly elected president. Continuing to foster Taiwan's industrial expansion, Lee used the island's economic success to diminish its international isolation. His suggestion in 1999 that Taiwan might consider itself to be a independent nation and not part of China strained relations with the mainland. In Mar., 2000, Lee was forced to resign as head of the Kuomintang after its candidate placed third in the Taiwanese presidential election. After Lee publicly split (2001) with the new leaders of the party, charging them with betraying Taiwan, he was expelled from the Kuomintang.

Lee Myung Bak, 1941-, South Korean business executive and politician, president of South Korea (2008-), b. Osaka, Japan. He began his business career with Hyundai Construction in 1965, becoming the chief executive officer of the company in 1977. By the time he left the Hyundai Group in 1992 he had been CEO of eight Hyundai businesses and earned the nickname "The Bulldozer" for the drive with which he managed difficult projects. In 1992 he entered politics and was elected to the National Assembly, serving until 1998, when he resigned in the wake of charges of excessive campaign spending. Active in the conservative Grand National party, he founded electronic financial services companies after 1999 and later was mayor of Seoul (2002-6). A candidate for South Korean president in 2007, he handily defeated his opponents, becoming the first conservative candidate to win in a decade. His victory, however, was marred by an investigation into accusations of fraud associated with an investment firm he founded, but he was subsequently cleared.

Lee Kuan Yew, 1923-, prime minister of Singapore (1959-90). Educated in England as a lawyer, he founded (1954) the moderately leftist People's Action party. In 1959 he became Singapore's first prime minister; in 1963 he led Singapore into the Federation of Malaysia, but political unrest caused it to withdraw in 1965. A republic was proclaimed, with Lee Kuan Yew continuing as prime minister. Lee ran a tightly controlled welfare state with an economy based in private enterprise; he encouraged foreign investment and discouraged political dissent. He also stressed discipline, correct public behavior, opposition to drugs, English education, and interracial tolerance. The longest serving prime minister in the world, Lee was lauded for overseeing Singapore's outstanding economic growth that transformed it from a poor port to a wealthy nation, but he was criticized for his repressive policies. Lee resigned as prime minister in 1990 but remained in the government in the posts of senior minister (1990-2004) and minister mentor (2004-).

Lee Hsien Loong, 1952-, prime minister of Singapore (2004-). The eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, Lee was educated at Cambridge and Harvard while also serving (beginning in 1974) in Singapore's armed forces. Retiring as a brigadier general in 1984, he was elected to parliament and became a member of the leadership of the People's Action party two years later. A cabinet member from 1987 and deputy prime minister from 1990, he became finance minister in 2001. In 2004 he succeeded the retiring Goh Chok Tong as prime minister.

Lawrie, Lee, 1877-1963, American sculptor, b. Germany. Brought to America as an infant, he studied with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Philip Martiny. Lawrie specialized in architectural sculpture. Among his works are decorations for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the state capitol at Lincoln, Nebr., and the Harkness Memorial Tower at Yale; the Atlas at Rockefeller Center, New York; and sculptures in the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Thomas Church, and the Chapel of the Intercession, New York City.

Krasner, Lee, 1911-84, American artist, b. Brooklyn. She studied with Hans Hofmann and became a leading figure in abstract expressionism along with her husband, Jackson Pollock. Her compositions are intellectually controlled and characterized by broad gestural brushstrokes. She often utilized collage, usually cut-up sections from her own earlier work, in her paintings. Notable examples of her work include The Bull (1958) and Polar Stampede (1960).

Iacocca, Lee (Lido Anthony Iacocca), 1924-, American business executive, b. Allentown, Pa. In 1946 he joined the Ford Motor Company, where he rose to president (1970-78). He left the company after a dispute with Henry Ford II and became president (1978) and then chairman (1979) of the Chrysler Corp., restoring it through shrewd financial policies, a $1.2 billion loan guarantee, and tax concessions granted by Congress. In the 1980s, he also served as chairman of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and engineered Chrysler's $1.5 billion acquisition of American Motors. Iacocca retired at the end of 1992, but in 1995 he aided billionaire Kirk Kerkorian in his unsuccessful attempt to win control of Chrysler.

Hooker, John Lee, 1917-2001, American blues singer and guitarist, b. near Clarksdale, Miss. From a cotton-sharecropping family, he learned the blues from his stepfather and various visiting Delta bluesmen, constructing his first instrument from strings made of rubber inner tube nailed to a barn. He left home at 14, sang with gospel groups, and ultimately moved (1943) to Detroit. Hooker made his first recording, the rhythm-and-blues hit "Boogie Chillun" in 1948. Accompanying himself on electric guitar, he recorded more than 100 albums, mainly of slow blues or fast boogies, and toured throughout the United States. After Hooker was "discovered" by the white blues-rockers of the 1960s, he recorded with several rock musicians and influenced a generation of players and singers. Hooker again reached a wide public with his albums The Healer (1989) and Don't Look Back (1997). He won three Grammy awards and was inducted (1991) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hansen, Marcus Lee, 1892-1938, American historian, b. Neenah, Wis. He spent almost four years in Europe gathering material for his studies on immigration. For The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860 (1940), first volume of a projected trilogy, he was awarded (posthumously) the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for history. In 1928 he began teaching history at the Univ. of Illinois, where he was made full professor in 1930. He also wrote The Immigrant in American History (posthumous, 1940).

Hamilton, Lee Herbert, 1931-, U.S. politician, b. Daytona Beach, Fla. A lawyer (J.D. Indiana Univ., 1956), he left private practice after winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964, and served 17 terms as an Indiana Democrat. In Congress he was a leading Democratic spokesman on foreign policy and served as chair of the foreign affairs committee (1993-95). He retired in 1999, and became president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Hamilton also has served, among other posts, as vice chair of the 9/11 Commission (officially the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States; 2002-4), which assessed the circumstances surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against the United States and made recommendations based on its assessments; and as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group (2006), commissioned by Congress to assess the situation in U.S.-occupied Iraq.

Gravely, Samuel Lee, Jr., 1922-2004, U.S. naval officer, the first African American to hold the rank of admiral, b. Richmond, Va. Joining the Naval Reserves in 1942, he became (1944) the first African American officer commissioned by the Naval Reserve Officer Training Course, serving until 1946. Recalled to active duty in 1949, he rose through the ranks, joining the regular Navy (1955) and becoming the first black American to command a U.S. warship (the destroyer Falgout) in 1962. After holding other commands, he was promoted to rear admiral in 1971 and vice admiral in 1976, when he also assumed command of the 3d Fleet. Gravely retired in 1980.

Glashow, Sheldon Lee, 1932-, American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Harvard, 1959. He became a professor at the Univ. of California at Berkeley in 1961 before moving to Harvard in 1967. He helped develop important theories of electromagnetic and nuclear particle interaction that affected subsequent research on quarks and leptons. In 1979, Glashow shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg.

Gibson, Randall Lee, 1832-92, Confederate general and U.S. legislator, b. Woodford co., Ky. Gibson served in most of the Western campaigns of the Civil War, first as an artillery officer and later as commander of an infantry brigade. After the war he practiced law in New Orleans and later was a U.S. Representative (1875-83) and Senator (1883-92). He was Paul Tulane's agent in reorganizing the Univ. of Louisiana as Tulane; he became the first president of the board of administrators of the university.

Friedlander, Lee, 1934-, American photographer, b. Aberdeen, Wash. Influenced by Walker Evans and Robert Frank, Friedlander is known for dense and often visually witty black-and-white streetscape views of the American scene. Characteristically filled with shadows or reflections, they frequently reveal the alienation and complexity of modern life. Later series of photographs, which have been published in a number of volumes, have explored letters and numbers, monuments, the landscape, self-portraits, the female nude, and such contemporary workers as telemarketers. Recent work also emphasizes seemingly casual shots of his family and friends. In 2001 a large collection of his prints were purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Fort Lee, residential borough (1990 pop. 31,997), Bergen co., NE N.J., on the Palisades overlooking the Hudson River; settled c.1700, inc. 1904. The Revolutionary War fort built here to command the Hudson was abandoned on Nov. 20, 1776, after Fort Washington, on the opposite shore, fell to the British. Fort Lee was an early center of the motion-picture industry. It is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge.

Ditmars, Raymond Lee, 1876-1942, American naturalist and author, b. Newark, N.J., grad. Barnard Military Academy, 1891. His early skill in preparing insect collections led to his first position in the division of entomology at the American Museum of Natural History; he remained at the museum for about five years and became assistant curator. While serving (1898-99) as a reporter on the New York Times he met W. T. Hornaday, who asked him to join the staff of the New York Zoological Park; Ditmars served as curator of reptiles from 1899 and as curator of mammals from 1910. He became a world authority on snakes and through his research, collecting expeditions, and writings contributed greatly to knowledge of reptiles and other animals. His works include The Reptile Book (1907), Reptiles of the World (1909, rev. ed. 1933), Snakes of the World (1931), Strange Animals I Have Known (1931), The Making of a Scientist (1937), The Book of Insect Oddities (1938), and Field Book of North American Snakes (1939).

De Forest, Lee, 1873-1961, American inventor, b. Council Bluffs, Iowa, grad. Yale, 1896. He was a pioneer in the development of wireless telegraphy, sound pictures, and television. His triode (1906) made practicable transcontinental telephony, both wire and wireless, and led to the foundation of the radio industry. He is frequently called "the father of radio." The first high-powered naval radio stations were designed and installed by him.

Custis-Lee Mansion, Va.: see Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial.

Cobb, Lee J., 1911-76, American actor, b. New York City. He first performed with the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse in 1929 and made his Broadway debut in Crime and Punishment (1935). Cobb created the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1948-49; repeated for television in 1965). He performed Shakespeare in New York, including The Merchant of Venice and King Lear. A burly, powerful actor, he became a valuable supporting player in films, including On the Waterfront (1954), Twelve Angry Men (1957), The Brothers Karamazov (1958), and The Exorcist (1973).

Chennault, Claire Lee, 1890-1958, American general, b. Commerce, Tex. In World War I he was a pioneer in air pursuit tactics. Retired (1937) from the army, he went to China and organized air defenses for Chiang Kai-shek. He formed there (1941) the American Volunteer Group (known as the Flying Tigers). Recalled (1942) to duty, he headed the U.S. air task force in China and retired (1945) as a major general.

Bontecou, Lee, 1931-, American artist, b. Providence, R.I. Bontecou is best known for the abstract sculptures she created from 1959-1967, three-dimensional wall reliefs made of weathered canvas stretched over steel wire armatures. Their large, thrusting, roughly concentric shapes converge in one or more yawning and seemingly endless black holes, giving many a menacing quality. The largest piece in this style is a lobby relief at Lincoln Center's New York State Theatre. During this period she also produced a number of powerful drawings, often executed in velvety black soot on paper. In 1971, Bontecou had her last 20th-century show in New York and largely vanished from the city art scene. Living mostly in rural Pennsylvania and teaching art (1971-91) at Brooklyn College, she created vacuum-formed plastic fish and flowers in the 1970s and began working in a new style in 1980. Her latest constructions, some of them mobiles, are forceful yet delicate and range from inches to several feet in size. Made of steel wire and mesh with elements of metal and porcelain and containing flashes of subtle color, many include references to animal parts (beaks, eyes, fins) within an abstract framework. These pieces were not seen by the public until many appeared, along with earlier works, in a 2003-04 retrospective organized by Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Bollinger, Lee C., 1947-, American educator, b. Santa Rosa, Calif., grad. Univ. of Oregon (B.A.), Columbia (M.A.; LL.B.). He joined the faculty of the Univ. of Michigan Law School in 1973 and later served as its dean (1987-1994). He was provost and taught at Princeton before being named president of the Univ. of Michigan in 1996. At Michigan, he was a strong supporter of the university's pro-affirmative-action policies. Under his direction, Michigan raised nearly $1 billion, introduced a major life sciences initiative, and integrated science and technology into the liberal arts curriculum. In 2002, Bollinger succeeded George Rupp as president of Columbia Univ. Bollinger is a legal scholar with an abiding interest in free speech and First Amendment issues; his books include The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America (1986) and Images of a Free Press (1991).

Berners-Lee, Tim (Sir Timothy Berners-Lee), 1955-, British computer scientist, b. London, grad. The Queen's College, Oxford (B.A. 1976). He joined CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland, as a consultant software engineer in 1960. While there he wrote for his own private use a program for storing information including using random associations; this program formed the conceptual basis for the future development of the World Wide Web. In 1989, he proposed a global hypertext project, to be known as the World Wide Web; it was to be designed to allow people to work together by combining their knowledge in a web of hypertext documents. He wrote the first Web server and the first client, a hypertext browser-editor, and defined the URL, HTTP and HTML specifications on which the Web depends. The Web was made available within CERN in Dec., 1990, and on the Internet at large in the summer of 1991. In 1994, Berners-Lee joined the Laboratory for Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as Director of the W3 Consortium, which coordinates Web development worldwide. With M. Fischetti, he wrote Weaving the Web (1999). He was knighted in 2004.

Bates, Katharine Lee, 1859-1929, American author, b. Falmouth, Mass., grad. Wellesley, 1880. She was professor of English literature at Wellesley (1891-1925). Her hymn, "America the Beautiful," first appeared in the Congregationalist magazine on July 4, 1895. Besides several books of poems, she wrote scholarly works and books for children.

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, 28 acres (11 hectares), NE Va., in Arlington National Cemetery; est. 1955. Formerly called the Custis-Lee Mansion, it is a memorial to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Arlington house was the home of Lee, inherited by his wife, the daughter of George Washington Parke Custis. It was abandoned by the Lees early in the Civil War and was later used as headquarters for the Union army. The estate was confiscated for nonpayment of taxes, and c.200 acres (80 hectares) were set aside for a national cemetery in 1864. See National Parks and Monuments, table.

(born 1550?, Calverton, Nottinghamshire, Eng.—died 1610?, Paris, France) British inventor of the first knitting machine. Lee's model (1589) was the only one employed for centuries, and its principle of operation remains in use. Elizabeth I twice denied him a patent because of her concern for the kingdom's hand knitters. With support from Henry IV of France, Lee later manufactured hosiery in Rouen.

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(born April 24, 1897, Winthrop, Mass., U.S.—died July 26, 1941, Wethersfield, Conn.) U.S. linguist. He worked professionally as a fire-prevention authority. The concept he developed (under Edward Sapir's influence) of the equation of culture and language became known as the Whorf (or Sapir-Whorf) hypothesis. He maintained that a language's structure tends to condition the ways its speakers think—for example, that the way a people views time and punctuality may be influenced by the types of verb tenses in its language. Whorf was also noted for his studies of Uto-Aztecan languages, especially Hopi, and Mayan hieroglyphic writing.

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Private university in Lexington, Virginia, U.S. Founded as an academy in 1749, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. It is named for George Washington, who presented the academy with a gift of $50,000 in 1796, and Robert E. Lee, who served as its president from 1865 to 1870. It became coeducational in 1984. It has an undergraduate college, a law school, and a school of commerce, economics, and politics. Among its offerings are programs in engineering, environmental studies, and journalism.

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(born Aug. 31, 1874, Williamsburg, Mass., U.S.—died Aug. 9, 1949, Montrose, N.Y.) U.S. psychologist. He trained under William James and James McKeen Cattell and later taught at Columbia University (1904–40). A pioneer in the fields of animal learning and educational psychology, he developed a form of behaviourism known as connectionism, which holds that learning takes place through associative bonds. He contributed significantly to the development of quantitative experimental methods and to more efficient and scientifically based methods of teaching. Among his writings are Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements (1904), Principles of Teaching Based on Psychology (1906), Animal Intelligence (1911), and The Psychology of Wants, Interests, and Attitudes (1935).

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orig. Israel Strassberg

(born Nov. 17, 1901, Budzanów, Pol., Austria-Hungary—died Feb. 17, 1982, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. theatre director and teacher. At age seven he immigrated to New York City with his family. After acting lessons with teachers who had studied under Konstantin Stanislavsky, he became an actor and stage manager with the Theatre Guild. In 1931 he cofounded the Group Theatre, where he directed brilliant experimental plays such as Men in White (1933). After working in Hollywood (1941–48), he returned to New York City to become artistic director of the Actors Studio, where he expanded Stanislavsky's teachings to further develop method acting, in which actors use their own emotional memory for the purpose of dramatic motivation. He trained actors such as Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Dustin Hoffman, Geraldine Page, and Julie Harris.

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orig. Shelton Jackson Lee

(born March 20, 1957, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.) U.S. film director. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and earned a master's degree in film at New York University. The comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986) brought him attention, but it was Do the Right Thing (1989), a portrait of racial tensions in Brooklyn, that brought him widespread acclaim. Many of his films focused on aspects of African American life, including School Daze (1988), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), and He Got Game (1998). The epic Malcolm X (1992) and the documentary Four Little Girls (1997) showed Lee's versatility as a director.

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(born Dec. 5, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. theoretical physicist. He joined the faculty at Harvard University in 1967. With Steven Weinberg (b. 1933) and Abdus Salam (1926–1996), he received a 1979 Nobel Prize for formulation of the electroweak theory, unifying electromagnetism and the weak force. In extending the early, limited theory of Weinberg and Salam to include more classes of elementary particles, he had to invent an important new property (charm) for quarks.

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(born March 26, 1874, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—died Jan. 29, 1963, Boston, Mass.) U.S. poet. Frost's family moved to New England early in his life. After stints at Dartmouth College and Harvard University and a difficult period as a teacher and farmer, he moved to England and published his first collections, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914). At the outbreak of war he returned to New England. He closely observed rural life and in his poetry endowed it with universal, even metaphysical, meaning, using colloquial language, familiar rhythms, and common symbols to express both its pastoral ideals and its dark complexities. His collections include New Hampshire (1923, Pulitzer Prize), Collected Poems (1930, Pulitzer Prize), A Further Range (1936, Pulitzer Prize), and A Witness Tree (1942, Pulitzer Prize). He was unique among American poets of the 20th century in simultaneously achieving wide popularity and deep critical admiration. Many of his poems, including “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Birches,” “The Death of the Hired Man,” “Dust of Snow,” “Fire and Ice,” and “Home Burial,” are widely anthologized.

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(born Jan. 19, 1807, Stratford, Westmoreland county, Va., U.S.—died Oct. 12, 1870, Lexington, Va.) U.S. and Confederate military leader. He was the son of Henry Lee. After graduating from West Point, he served in the engineering corps and in the Mexican War under Winfield Scott. He transferred to the cavalry in 1855 and commanded frontier forces in Texas (1856–57). In 1859 he led U.S. troops against the slave insurrection attempted by John Brown at Harpers Ferry. In 1861 he was offered command of a new army being formed to force the seceded Southern states back into the Union. Though opposed to secession, he refused. After his home state of Virginia seceded, he became commander of Virginia's forces in the American Civil War and adviser to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Taking command of the Army of Northern Virginia (1862) after Joseph Johnston was wounded, Lee repulsed the Union forces in the Seven Days' Battles. He won victories at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His attempts to draw Union forces out of Virginia by invading the North resulted in failures at Antietam and Gettysburg. In 1864–65 he conducted defensive campaigns against Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant that caused heavy Union casualties. Lee ended his retreat behind fortifications built at Petersburg and Richmond (see Petersburg Campaign). By April 1865 dwindling forces and supplies forced Lee, now general of all Confederate armies, to surrender at Appomattox Court House. After several months of recuperation, he accepted the post of president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University), where he served until his death.

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(born Jan. 20, 1732, Stratford, Va.—died June 19, 1794, Chantilly, Va., U.S.) U.S. statesman. As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758–75), he opposed the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. He helped initiate the Committees of Correspondence and was active in the First and Second Continental Congress. On June 7, 1776, he introduced a resolution calling for independence from Britain. Its adoption led to the Declaration of Independence, which he signed, as he did the Articles of Confederation. He again served in Congress from 1784 to 1787, acting as its president in 1784. He opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States because it lacked a bill of rights. He later served in the first U.S. Senate (1789–92).

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(born Oct. 13, 1962, Starkville, Miss., U.S.) U.S. gridiron football player. He won All-America honours at Mississippi Valley State University. As a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers (1985–2000), he was part of three Super Bowl championship teams (1988, 1989, and 1994). Standing 6 ft 2 in. (1.9 m), Rice was larger than the typical NFL wide receiver of his era, and he used his size and strength to overmatch defenders; he was also an exceptional runner. He completed his career in 2005 as the all-time NFL leader in touchdowns (207), receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), and combined yardage (23,546).

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orig. Norma Deloris Egstrom

(born May 26, 1920, Jamestown, N.D., U.S.—died Jan. 21, 2002, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. popular singer. She endured a difficult childhood after her mother's early death. Singing with a group in Chicago, she was engaged by Benny Goodman as his principal singer in 1941. She began singing on her own in 1943 and also began collaborating on songs, often with her husband, Dave Barbour, including “Fever,” “Mañana,” and several songs for Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955). With her smooth, lightly husky voice, usually backed by jazz-influenced arrangements, she produced other hits such as “Lover” and “Is That All There Is?”

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(born Oct. 18, 1939, New Orleans, La., U.S.—died Nov. 24, 1963, Dallas, Texas) Accused assassin of Pres. John F. Kennedy. While serving in the U.S. Marines (1956–59) he began to express pro-Soviet and politically radical views. Shortly after his discharge he moved to the Soviet Union, where he unsuccessfully tried to become a Soviet citizen. He returned to the U.S. in 1962 with his Russian wife and daughter but retained his radical political beliefs. In April 1963 he allegedly shot at but missed Edwin Walker, an ultrarightist retired general. In October he took a job at the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. On Nov. 22, 1963, from a window on its sixth floor, he allegedly fired three shots that killed Kennedy and wounded Gov. John B. Connally while the two men were riding in the president's motorcade. Oswald killed a patrolman who had detained him, but he was soon captured and arraigned. On November 24, while being transferred to an interrogation office, he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.

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(born Aug. 23, 1869, Garnett, Kan., U.S.—died March 5, 1950, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. poet and novelist. He grew up on his grandfather's farm and became a lawyer in Chicago. He wrote undistinguished poetry and plays before publishing Spoon River Anthology (1915), his major work. Its 245 free-verse epitaphs in the form of monologues are spoken from the grave by the former inhabitants of a fictitious small town, who tell of their bitter, unfulfilled lives in its dreary confines.

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(born Jan. 29, 1756, Prince William county, Va.—died March 25, 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga., U.S.) American army officer and politician. In the American Revolution he rose to cavalry commander (earning the nickname “Light-Horse Harry”) and led victories at Paulus Hook, N.J., and in the South. As governor of Virginia (1791–94), he commanded the army that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). In the U.S. House of Representatives (1799–1801), he wrote the resolution eulogizing George Washington as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” After 1800 Lee failed in several land and financial speculations and was twice imprisoned for debt. He was the father of Robert E. Lee.

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(born Sept. 29, 1935, Ferriday, La., U.S.) U.S. rock-and-roll musician. He began playing piano in his childhood, influenced by blues and gospel musicians. He attended Bible school in Texas but was expelled. Returning to Louisiana, he played in several bands, perfecting his signature “pumping” piano technique (the left hand maintaining a driving boogie pattern while the right played flashy ornamentation). His first hits came in 1957 with “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On” and “Great Balls of Fire.” In 1958 it was discovered that he had married a 13-year-old relative, and his record sales dropped. Though he had a few more hits, he concentrated on his famously energetic and uninhibited live performances. His career continued to be plagued by controversy.

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(born 1550?, Calverton, Nottinghamshire, Eng.—died 1610?, Paris, France) British inventor of the first knitting machine. Lee's model (1589) was the only one employed for centuries, and its principle of operation remains in use. Elizabeth I twice denied him a patent because of her concern for the kingdom's hand knitters. With support from Henry IV of France, Lee later manufactured hosiery in Rouen.

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orig. Shelton Jackson Lee

(born March 20, 1957, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.) U.S. film director. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and earned a master's degree in film at New York University. The comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986) brought him attention, but it was Do the Right Thing (1989), a portrait of racial tensions in Brooklyn, that brought him widespread acclaim. Many of his films focused on aspects of African American life, including School Daze (1988), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), and He Got Game (1998). The epic Malcolm X (1992) and the documentary Four Little Girls (1997) showed Lee's versatility as a director.

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(born Jan. 19, 1807, Stratford, Westmoreland county, Va., U.S.—died Oct. 12, 1870, Lexington, Va.) U.S. and Confederate military leader. He was the son of Henry Lee. After graduating from West Point, he served in the engineering corps and in the Mexican War under Winfield Scott. He transferred to the cavalry in 1855 and commanded frontier forces in Texas (1856–57). In 1859 he led U.S. troops against the slave insurrection attempted by John Brown at Harpers Ferry. In 1861 he was offered command of a new army being formed to force the seceded Southern states back into the Union. Though opposed to secession, he refused. After his home state of Virginia seceded, he became commander of Virginia's forces in the American Civil War and adviser to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Taking command of the Army of Northern Virginia (1862) after Joseph Johnston was wounded, Lee repulsed the Union forces in the Seven Days' Battles. He won victories at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. His attempts to draw Union forces out of Virginia by invading the North resulted in failures at Antietam and Gettysburg. In 1864–65 he conducted defensive campaigns against Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant that caused heavy Union casualties. Lee ended his retreat behind fortifications built at Petersburg and Richmond (see Petersburg Campaign). By April 1865 dwindling forces and supplies forced Lee, now general of all Confederate armies, to surrender at Appomattox Court House. After several months of recuperation, he accepted the post of president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University), where he served until his death.

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(born Jan. 20, 1732, Stratford, Va.—died June 19, 1794, Chantilly, Va., U.S.) U.S. statesman. As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758–75), he opposed the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. He helped initiate the Committees of Correspondence and was active in the First and Second Continental Congress. On June 7, 1776, he introduced a resolution calling for independence from Britain. Its adoption led to the Declaration of Independence, which he signed, as he did the Articles of Confederation. He again served in Congress from 1784 to 1787, acting as its president in 1784. He opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States because it lacked a bill of rights. He later served in the first U.S. Senate (1789–92).

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orig. Norma Deloris Egstrom

(born May 26, 1920, Jamestown, N.D., U.S.—died Jan. 21, 2002, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. popular singer. She endured a difficult childhood after her mother's early death. Singing with a group in Chicago, she was engaged by Benny Goodman as his principal singer in 1941. She began singing on her own in 1943 and also began collaborating on songs, often with her husband, Dave Barbour, including “Fever,” “Mañana,” and several songs for Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955). With her smooth, lightly husky voice, usually backed by jazz-influenced arrangements, she produced other hits such as “Lover” and “Is That All There Is?”

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(born Feb. 29, 1736, Manchester, Eng.—died Sept. 8, 1784, Watervliet, N.Y., U.S.) British-American religious leader. A factory worker in her youth in Manchester, she joined the Shakers in 1758 and was acknowledged as their leader in 1770. Persecuted by the English authorities and compelled by what she believed was a vision, she immigrated to America in 1774. With a band of followers, she founded a settlement at Niskeyuna (present-day Watervliet), N.Y., in 1776, and thereafter her movement spread rapidly. Mother Ann, as she came to be known, was said to have performed miracles, including healing the sick by touch. She was imprisoned briefly for treason because of her pacifist doctrines and refusal to sign an oath of allegiance.

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(born Jan. 15, 1923, near Tan-shui, Taiwan) First Taiwan-born president (1988–2000) of Taiwan (Republic of China). He became president in 1988 after the death of Chiang Ching-kuo. He was reelected in 1990 and won a landslide victory in 1996 in Taiwan's first direct presidential election. Lee favoured a policy of “flexible diplomacy” in dealing with the People's Republic of China. His successor, Chen Shui-bian (Ch'en Shui-pian) was the first president not from the Nationalist Party.

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orig. Israel Strassberg

(born Nov. 17, 1901, Budzanów, Pol., Austria-Hungary—died Feb. 17, 1982, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. theatre director and teacher. At age seven he immigrated to New York City with his family. After acting lessons with teachers who had studied under Konstantin Stanislavsky, he became an actor and stage manager with the Theatre Guild. In 1931 he cofounded the Group Theatre, where he directed brilliant experimental plays such as Men in White (1933). After working in Hollywood (1941–48), he returned to New York City to become artistic director of the Actors Studio, where he expanded Stanislavsky's teachings to further develop method acting, in which actors use their own emotional memory for the purpose of dramatic motivation. He trained actors such as Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Dustin Hoffman, Geraldine Page, and Julie Harris.

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(born Sept. 16, 1923, Singapore) Prime minister of Singapore (1959–90). Born to a wealthy Chinese family, Lee studied at the University of Cambridge and became a lawyer and a socialist. He worked as a legal adviser to labour unions and won election to Singapore's legislative council in 1955, while the country was still a British crown colony. He helped Singapore achieve self-government and, running as an anticolonialist and anticommunist, was elected prime minister in 1959. His numerous reforms included the emancipation of women. He briefly entered Singapore in the Federation of Malaysia (1963–65); on its withdrawal, Singapore became a sovereign state. Lee industrialized the country and made Singapore the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia. He achieved both labour peace and a rising standard of living for workers, though his mildly authoritarian government at times infringed on civil liberties.

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orig. Lenore Krassner

(born Oct. 27, 1908, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died June 19, 1984, New York, N.Y.) U.S. painter. Born to Russian immigrants, in 1937 she began to study with the painter Hans Hofmann, who exposed her to the work of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Synthesizing these European influences, Krasner developed her own style of geometric abstraction, which she grounded in floral motifs and rhythmic gesture. In 1940 she began exhibiting her work with that of other American artists who became known as Abstract Expressionists. After her 1945 marriage to painter Jackson Pollock, Krasner and Pollock both produced a large body of work, each under the other's influence. Krasner continued to paint throughout the 1970s.

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orig. Lido Anthony Iacocca

(born Oct. 15, 1924, Allentown, Pa., U.S.) U.S. automobile executive. He was hired as an engineer by Ford Motor Co. but soon moved to its sales department and was noted for his successful promotion of the sporty yet inexpensive Mustang. He rose rapidly, becoming president of Ford in 1970. His brash manner led to his dismissal by Henry Ford II in 1978. A year later he was hired by the nearly bankrupt Chrysler Corp. He persuaded Congress to lend Chrysler $1.5 billion in 1980 and carried out layoffs, wage cuts, and plant closings to make the company more efficient. He also shifted the company's emphasis to more fuel-efficient cars and embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign. Within a few years Chrysler was showing record profits, and Iacocca was a national celebrity with a best-selling autobiography, Iacocca (1984). He retired in 1992.

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(born Oct. 18, 1939, New Orleans, La., U.S.—died Nov. 24, 1963, Dallas, Texas) Accused assassin of Pres. John F. Kennedy. While serving in the U.S. Marines (1956–59) he began to express pro-Soviet and politically radical views. Shortly after his discharge he moved to the Soviet Union, where he unsuccessfully tried to become a Soviet citizen. He returned to the U.S. in 1962 with his Russian wife and daughter but retained his radical political beliefs. In April 1963 he allegedly shot at but missed Edwin Walker, an ultrarightist retired general. In October he took a job at the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. On Nov. 22, 1963, from a window on its sixth floor, he allegedly fired three shots that killed Kennedy and wounded Gov. John B. Connally while the two men were riding in the president's motorcade. Oswald killed a patrolman who had detained him, but he was soon captured and arraigned. On November 24, while being transferred to an interrogation office, he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.

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(born Aug. 26, 1873, Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S.—died June 30, 1961, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. inventor. He had invented many gadgets by age 13, including a working silverplating apparatus. After earning a Ph.D. from Yale University, he founded the De Forest Wireless Telegraph Co. (1902) and the De Forest Radio Telephone Co. (1907). In 1907 he patented the Audion vacuum tube detector, which allowed more sensitive reception of radio signals such as his live broadcast of a performance by Enrico Caruso (1910). He developed a sound-on-film optical-recording system called Phonofilm and demonstrated it in theatres (1923–27). A poor businessman who was twice defrauded by business partners, he eventually sold his patents at low prices to such firms as American Telephone & Telegraph Co., which profited highly from their commercial development. Though embittered, he was widely honoured as the father of radio and the grandfather of television.

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orig. Lenore Krassner

(born Oct. 27, 1908, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died June 19, 1984, New York, N.Y.) U.S. painter. Born to Russian immigrants, in 1937 she began to study with the painter Hans Hofmann, who exposed her to the work of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Synthesizing these European influences, Krasner developed her own style of geometric abstraction, which she grounded in floral motifs and rhythmic gesture. In 1940 she began exhibiting her work with that of other American artists who became known as Abstract Expressionists. After her 1945 marriage to painter Jackson Pollock, Krasner and Pollock both produced a large body of work, each under the other's influence. Krasner continued to paint throughout the 1970s.

Learn more about Krasner, Lee with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Oct. 13, 1962, Starkville, Miss., U.S.) U.S. gridiron football player. He won All-America honours at Mississippi Valley State University. As a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers (1985–2000), he was part of three Super Bowl championship teams (1988, 1989, and 1994). Standing 6 ft 2 in. (1.9 m), Rice was larger than the typical NFL wide receiver of his era, and he used his size and strength to overmatch defenders; he was also an exceptional runner. He completed his career in 2005 as the all-time NFL leader in touchdowns (207), receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), and combined yardage (23,546).

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(born Sept. 29, 1935, Ferriday, La., U.S.) U.S. rock-and-roll musician. He began playing piano in his childhood, influenced by blues and gospel musicians. He attended Bible school in Texas but was expelled. Returning to Louisiana, he played in several bands, perfecting his signature “pumping” piano technique (the left hand maintaining a driving boogie pattern while the right played flashy ornamentation). His first hits came in 1957 with “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On” and “Great Balls of Fire.” In 1958 it was discovered that he had married a 13-year-old relative, and his record sales dropped. Though he had a few more hits, he concentrated on his famously energetic and uninhibited live performances. His career continued to be plagued by controversy.

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orig. Lido Anthony Iacocca

(born Oct. 15, 1924, Allentown, Pa., U.S.) U.S. automobile executive. He was hired as an engineer by Ford Motor Co. but soon moved to its sales department and was noted for his successful promotion of the sporty yet inexpensive Mustang. He rose rapidly, becoming president of Ford in 1970. His brash manner led to his dismissal by Henry Ford II in 1978. A year later he was hired by the nearly bankrupt Chrysler Corp. He persuaded Congress to lend Chrysler $1.5 billion in 1980 and carried out layoffs, wage cuts, and plant closings to make the company more efficient. He also shifted the company's emphasis to more fuel-efficient cars and embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign. Within a few years Chrysler was showing record profits, and Iacocca was a national celebrity with a best-selling autobiography, Iacocca (1984). He retired in 1992.

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(born Jan. 29, 1756, Prince William county, Va.—died March 25, 1818, Cumberland Island, Ga., U.S.) American army officer and politician. In the American Revolution he rose to cavalry commander (earning the nickname “Light-Horse Harry”) and led victories at Paulus Hook, N.J., and in the South. As governor of Virginia (1791–94), he commanded the army that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). In the U.S. House of Representatives (1799–1801), he wrote the resolution eulogizing George Washington as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” After 1800 Lee failed in several land and financial speculations and was twice imprisoned for debt. He was the father of Robert E. Lee.

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(born Dec. 5, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. theoretical physicist. He joined the faculty at Harvard University in 1967. With Steven Weinberg (b. 1933) and Abdus Salam (1926–1996), he received a 1979 Nobel Prize for formulation of the electroweak theory, unifying electromagnetism and the weak force. In extending the early, limited theory of Weinberg and Salam to include more classes of elementary particles, he had to invent an important new property (charm) for quarks.

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(born March 26, 1874, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—died Jan. 29, 1963, Boston, Mass.) U.S. poet. Frost's family moved to New England early in his life. After stints at Dartmouth College and Harvard University and a difficult period as a teacher and farmer, he moved to England and published his first collections, A Boy's Will (1913) and North of Boston (1914). At the outbreak of war he returned to New England. He closely observed rural life and in his poetry endowed it with universal, even metaphysical, meaning, using colloquial language, familiar rhythms, and common symbols to express both its pastoral ideals and its dark complexities. His collections include New Hampshire (1923, Pulitzer Prize), Collected Poems (1930, Pulitzer Prize), A Further Range (1936, Pulitzer Prize), and A Witness Tree (1942, Pulitzer Prize). He was unique among American poets of the 20th century in simultaneously achieving wide popularity and deep critical admiration. Many of his poems, including “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Birches,” “The Death of the Hired Man,” “Dust of Snow,” “Fire and Ice,” and “Home Burial,” are widely anthologized.

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(born Aug. 31, 1874, Williamsburg, Mass., U.S.—died Aug. 9, 1949, Montrose, N.Y.) U.S. psychologist. He trained under William James and James McKeen Cattell and later taught at Columbia University (1904–40). A pioneer in the fields of animal learning and educational psychology, he developed a form of behaviourism known as connectionism, which holds that learning takes place through associative bonds. He contributed significantly to the development of quantitative experimental methods and to more efficient and scientifically based methods of teaching. Among his writings are Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements (1904), Principles of Teaching Based on Psychology (1906), Animal Intelligence (1911), and The Psychology of Wants, Interests, and Attitudes (1935).

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(born Aug. 23, 1869, Garnett, Kan., U.S.—died March 5, 1950, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. poet and novelist. He grew up on his grandfather's farm and became a lawyer in Chicago. He wrote undistinguished poetry and plays before publishing Spoon River Anthology (1915), his major work. Its 245 free-verse epitaphs in the form of monologues are spoken from the grave by the former inhabitants of a fictitious small town, who tell of their bitter, unfulfilled lives in its dreary confines.

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(born Aug. 26, 1873, Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S.—died June 30, 1961, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. inventor. He had invented many gadgets by age 13, including a working silverplating apparatus. After earning a Ph.D. from Yale University, he founded the De Forest Wireless Telegraph Co. (1902) and the De Forest Radio Telephone Co. (1907). In 1907 he patented the Audion vacuum tube detector, which allowed more sensitive reception of radio signals such as his live broadcast of a performance by Enrico Caruso (1910). He developed a sound-on-film optical-recording system called Phonofilm and demonstrated it in theatres (1923–27). A poor businessman who was twice defrauded by business partners, he eventually sold his patents at low prices to such firms as American Telephone & Telegraph Co., which profited highly from their commercial development. Though embittered, he was widely honoured as the father of radio and the grandfather of television.

Learn more about De Forest, Lee with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Sept. 6, 1890, Commerce, Texas, U.S.—died July 27, 1958, New Orleans, La.) U.S. brigadier general. He served in the army air corps for 20 years before retiring in 1937 because of increasing deafness. He became an air adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, and he formed the group of U.S. volunteer aviators called the Flying Tigers to combat the Japanese. Recalled to active duty in World War II, he commanded U.S. Army Air Forces in China (1942–45). He and his Chinese wife, Anna, remained influential supporters of Chiang Kai-shek.

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(born Sept. 6, 1890, Commerce, Texas, U.S.—died July 27, 1958, New Orleans, La.) U.S. brigadier general. He served in the army air corps for 20 years before retiring in 1937 because of increasing deafness. He became an air adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, and he formed the group of U.S. volunteer aviators called the Flying Tigers to combat the Japanese. Recalled to active duty in World War II, he commanded U.S. Army Air Forces in China (1942–45). He and his Chinese wife, Anna, remained influential supporters of Chiang Kai-shek.

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(born April 24, 1897, Winthrop, Mass., U.S.—died July 26, 1941, Wethersfield, Conn.) U.S. linguist. He worked professionally as a fire-prevention authority. The concept he developed (under Edward Sapir's influence) of the equation of culture and language became known as the Whorf (or Sapir-Whorf) hypothesis. He maintained that a language's structure tends to condition the ways its speakers think—for example, that the way a people views time and punctuality may be influenced by the types of verb tenses in its language. Whorf was also noted for his studies of Uto-Aztecan languages, especially Hopi, and Mayan hieroglyphic writing.

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(born Feb. 29, 1736, Manchester, Eng.—died Sept. 8, 1784, Watervliet, N.Y., U.S.) British-American religious leader. A factory worker in her youth in Manchester, she joined the Shakers in 1758 and was acknowledged as their leader in 1770. Persecuted by the English authorities and compelled by what she believed was a vision, she immigrated to America in 1774. With a band of followers, she founded a settlement at Niskeyuna (present-day Watervliet), N.Y., in 1776, and thereafter her movement spread rapidly. Mother Ann, as she came to be known, was said to have performed miracles, including healing the sick by touch. She was imprisoned briefly for treason because of her pacifist doctrines and refusal to sign an oath of allegiance.

Learn more about Lee, Ann with a free trial on Britannica.com.