Fitzsimmons, Robert L., 1863–1918, British boxer, b. Cornwall, England. Fitzsimmons began fighting professionally in Australia and New Zealand before going to the United States in 1890. He won...

Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis Mencken), 1880–1956, American editor, author, and critic, b. Baltimore, studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic. Probably America's most influential journalist, he beg...

Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud Montgomery), 1874–1942, Canadian novelist, b. Prince Edward Island. Her first novel, Anne of Green Gables (1908), met with immediate success and has been widely tr...

Doctorow, E. L. (Edgar Laurence Doctorow), 1931–, American novelist, b. New York City. Doctorow is known for his skillful blending of fiction and fact into reconstructions of eras in American ...

Safire, William L., 1929–, American journalist and speechwriter, b. New York City. A former reporter and public-relations executive, he became a speechwriter (1968–73) for Richard Nixon during...

Wilder, L. Douglas (Lawrence Douglas Wilder), 1931–, American political leader, b. Richmond, Va. The grandson of slaves, Wilder studied law at Howard Univ. A Democrat, he was elected a state s...

Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank Baum), 1856–1919, American journalist, playwright, and author of children's stories, b. Chittenango, N.Y. He and his family moved to South Dakota in 1888, where he ...

Stern, Andrew L., 1950–, American labor leader, b. West Orange, N.J., grad., Univ. of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1971). A charismatic and frequently controversial reformer, he has become one of the m...

Travers, P. L. (Pamela Lyndon Travers), 1899–1996, British author best known for her Mary Poppins children's books, b. Australia as Helen Lyndon Goff. She worked as an actress and journalist a...

Epée, Charles Michel, Abbé de l', 1712–89, French pioneer teacher of deaf-mutes. A Jansenist priest, he developed a manual system of communication for deaf-mutes and founded a school for their...