Smith, Hoke (b. Sept. 2, 1855, Newton, N.C., U.S.—d. Nov. 27, 1931, Atlanta, Ga.) U.S. politician. He was publisher of the Atlanta Journal (1887-1900), which he used to promote progressive measures (except civil rights for African Americans). He served as U.S. secretary of the interior (1893-96). As governor of Georgia (1907-09, 1911), he improved education, transportation, and prison conditions. Elected to the U.S. Sen¬ ate (1911-21), he supported progressive legislation but opposed U.S. par¬ ticipation in the League of Nations.
Smith, Ian (Douglas) (b. April 8, 1919, Selukwe, Rhodesia) First native-born prime minister of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (1964-65). An ardent advocate of white rule, in 1965 he declared Rho¬ desia’s independence and withdrew it from the Commonwealth. He faced guerrilla attacks from Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo through most of the 1970s. In 1977 he was finally compelled to negotiate a transfer of power to the black majority, a process completed two years later. He con¬ tinued to serve in Parliament until 1987.
Smith, John (baptized Jan. 6,1580, Willoughby, Lincolnshire, Eng.—d. June 21, 1631, London) English explorer. After a period as a military adventurer, he joined an English group preparing to establish a colony in North America. The Virginia Com¬ pany of London sailed three ships to Chesapeake Bay, arriving in 1607 to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, of which Smith later became the leader. On a river voyage to explore the surrounding region, he was captured by Indians of the Powhatan empire; according to his own account. Smith was saved from death by Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief. While president of the Jamestown Colony, Smith oversaw its expansion. An injury forced his return to England in 1609. Eager for further exploration, he made contact with the Plymouth Company and sailed in 1614 to the area he named New England. He also mapped its coast and wrote descriptions of Virginia and New England that encouraged others to colonize the New World.
Smith, Joseph (b. Dec. 23, 1805,
Sharon, Vt., U.S.—d. June 27, 1844,
Carthage, Ill.) Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church). He began experi¬ encing visions as a teenager in Palmyra, N.Y. In 1827 he claimed that an angel had directed him to bur¬ ied golden plates containing God’s revelation; these he translated into the Book of Mormon (1830). He led converts to Ohio, Missouri, and Illi¬ nois, where he established the town of Nauvoo (1839), which soon became the state’s largest town.
Imprisoned for treason after his efforts to silence Mormon dissenters led to mob violence, he was mur¬ dered by a lynch mob that stormed the jail where he was held. His work was continued by Brigham Young.
John Smith, engraving by Simon van de Passe, 1616
COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.
Joseph Smith, detail from an oil paint¬ ing by an unknown artist; in the Com¬ munity of Christ Temple and Auditorium complex, Independence, Missouri.
COURTESY OF THE COMMUNITY OF CHRIST, INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Smith, Kate ► smithing I 1771
Smith, Kate orig. Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (b. May 1, 1909, Greenville, Va., U.S.—d. June 17, 1986, Raleigh, N.C.) U.S. singer, long known as the “First Lady of Radio.” Smith studied nursing before mov¬ ing to New York City, where she won a Broadway role as an overweight girl who was the butt of jokes. In 1931 she began her immensely popular radio show Kate Smith Sings, which ran for 16 years; her theme song, “When the Moon Comes over the Mountain,” became familiar to mil¬ lions. In 1938 she created the news and gossip program Kate Smith Speaks and introduced Irving Berlin's song “God Bless America.” She hosted sev¬ eral television shows in the 1950s. In 1982 she was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom.
Smith, Dame Maggie orig. Margaret Natalie Smith (b. Dec. 28, 1934, Ilford, Essex, Eng.) British actress. She first gained recognition on Broadway in New Faces of 1956, and, after winning praise for her roles in The Rehearsal (1961) and Mary, Mary (1963), she joined Brit¬ ain’s National Theatre Company, where she starred opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello (1964; film, 1965). Her later films include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969, Academy Award), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978, Academy Award), and The Lonely Pas¬ sion of Judith Hearne (1987). Known for her nervous intensity, acid wit, and flawless timing, she has many great stage performances to her credit, notably in The Way of the World (1985) and Lettice and Lovage (1990, Tony Award).
Smith, Margaret Chase orig. Margaret Madeline Chase (b.
Dec. 14, 1897, Skowhegan, Maine, U.S.—d. May 29, 1995, Skowhegan) U.S. politician. She served as secretary to her husband, Clyde Smith, after he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1936. When he suffered a heart attack in 1940, he urged voters to elect her to the office. She became the first woman to win election to both the House (1940—49) and the Senate (1949-73). Though a staunch anticom¬ munist, she was the first Republican senator to condemn the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, delivering a memorable “Declaration of Conscience” speech on the Senate floor in 1950. Her opinion that Pres. John F. Kennedy should use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union prompted Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to dub her “the devil in disguise of a woman.” She retired from politics after her defeat in 1972. She received the Presi¬ dential Medal of Freedom in 1989.
Smith, Red orig. Walter Wellesley Smith (b. Sept. 25, 1905, Green Bay, Wis., U.S.—d. Jan. 15, 1982, Stamford, Conn.) U.S. sports columnist. Smith worked for various newspapers before his column, “Views of Sport,” began appearing in the New York Herald Tribune in 1945; it was syndicated soon thereafter. He joined The New York Times in 1971. His writing, mostly about major spectator sports, shunned jar¬ gon and displayed literary craftsmanship, wry humour, and deep knowl¬ edge. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. His columns were collected in five books, including Out of the Red (1950) and Strawberries in the Winter¬ time (1974).
Smith, Samuel (b. July 27, 1752, Carlisle, Pa.—d. April 22, 1839, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) U.S. politician. He was a merchant in Baltimore and fought in the American Revolution. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1793-1803, 1816-22) and Senate (1803-15, 1822-33). As brigadier general of the Maryland militia, he commanded U.S. troops that defended Baltimore from the British in the War of 1812. After lead¬ ing the militia against rioters, he was elected mayor of Baltimore (1835— 38) at age 83.
Smith, Stevie orig. Florence Margaret Smith (b. Sept. 20, 1902, Hull, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. March 7, 1971, London) British poet. She lived most of her life with an aunt in a London suburb and worked many years as a secretary. Her poetry, an unsentimental combination of the ludicrous and the pathetic, expresses an original and visionary personality. In the 1960s her poetry readings became popular, and she made radio broad¬ casts and recordings. Her Collected Poems (1975) is illustrated with her James THURBER-like sketches; it includes her first book, A Good Time Was Had by All (1937), and Not Waving but Drowning (1957), whose title poem appears in many anthologies.
Smith, Theobald (b. July 31, 1859, Albany, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 10, 1934, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. microbiologist and pathologist. He received his M.D. from Cornell University. He discovered that injected heat-killed cultures of the causative microorganisms can immunize ani¬ mals against disease. His discovery that Texas cattle fever is caused by a parasite transmitted by ticks—the first definite proof of arthropods' role