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From New World Encyclopedia
New World Encyclopedia integrates facts with values. Written by certified experts.
Featured Article: James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor who won acclaim for a wide variety of roles, winning the Oscar for Best Actor in 1942 for his role in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Many of the roles that Cagney played plumbed the depth of human experience, explored the struggle between good and evil. He tended to play gangster roles, some of whom had a touch of decency despite their criminal personae. Cagney said that the secret to acting was simply this: "Learn your lines… plant your feet… look the other actor in the eye… say the words… mean them."
Popular Article: Siege of Sparta
The siege of Sparta took place in 272 B.C.E. and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, (r. 297–272 B.C.E.) and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I (r. 309–265 B.C.E.) and his heir Acrotatus, and Macedon. Pyrrhus was approached by a Spartan prince, Cleonymus, a claimant to the Spartan throne who had been overlooked, and seeing this invitation as an opportunity to extend his wars of conquest to the Peloponnese he invaded Sparta. The majority of the Spartan army was campaigning in Crete, but the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defense led by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus. The Spartans were able to withstand the Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the siege.
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The deaths of such popular figures as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie contributed to how the Battle of the Alamo has been regarded as an heroic and iconic moment in Texan and U.S. history (source: Battle of the Alamo)