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Definition: John Henry

Part of Speech Definition
Noun 1. Hero of American folk tales; portrayed as an enormously strong black man who worked on the railroads and died from exhaustion after winning a contest with a steam drill.[Wordnet].

Source: WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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Extended Definition: John Henry

John Henry

John Henry may refer to:

  • John Henry (folklore), the "steel-driving man", is an American folk hero

Real people

  • John Henry (Musician), American pianist and composer
  • John Joseph Henry (1758–1811), American Revolutionary War soldier
  • John Henry (Maryland), an 18th century U.S. Senator from and Governor of Maryland
  • John Henry (representative), a 19th century U.S. Representative from Illinois
  • John Flournoy Henry, an U.S. Representative from Kentucky
  • John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox
  • John Henry (toxicologist), a toxicologist, professor at Imperial College London and a consultant to Britain's National Poisons Information Service
  • John Henry (vocalist), a vocalist in the metalcore band Darkest Hour
  • John Henry (spy) (1776–1853), a British spy
  • John Henry (Bailiff of Guernsey) (1446–1447), Bailiff of Guernsey
  • John Henry (historian), a historian of science associated with the Strong Programme
  • John Henry (Australian politician), an Australian politician
  • John Henry (boxer), a Canadian boxer
  • John Henry (colonial judge), (?-1773) colonel in the Virginia milita and Judge of Hanover County who was the father of Patrick Henry
  • John Henry (patriot son) (1757-1791), son of Patrick Henry
  • John Henry (19th century baseball player) (1863-1939)
  • John Henry (MLB catcher) (1889-1941)
  • John Henry (New Zealand Justice), a New Zealand Privy Councillor and Court of Appeal Justice

Works of fiction

  • John Henry (novel) is a 1931 novel by Roark Bradford, based on the African-American folk hero of the same name (see above).
  • John Henry Days is a 2002 American novel by Colson Whitehead, which explores the story of the African American folk hero John Henry.
  • John Henry (play) is a Broadway play based on the above novel, and later a musical
  • John Henry (album) is a 1994 rock album by They Might Be Giants
  • John Henry Irons, better known as the superhero Steel.
  • John Henry (Transformers), a character in the 2006 Transformers series.

Other notable uses

  • John Henry (horse) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
  • One's signature, as in "put your John Henry right here", see "John Hancock"[1]
  • A snack lunch eaten in the field (Texas prison slang)[2]
  • A penis, variation on John Thomas[2]
  • To play John Henry, to approach a woman[2]
  • John Henry's is a rehearsal studio in London and has been used by many famous musicians such as Guns'N'Roses, Blink 182, Iron Maiden, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Foo Fighters

References

  1. An alternate expression commonly used as a synonym for "signature" is "John Henry":

    JOHN HENRY/JOHN HANCOCK - "As every schoolboy knows, the biggest, boldest and most defiant signature on the Declaration of Independence was scrawled by John Hancock of Massachusetts. So completely did it overshadow the autographs of the other founding fathers that the term 'John Hancock' has become synonymous with 'signature' and each of us at the one time or another has spoken of 'putting his 'John Hancock' at the bottom of a document. In the West, a half century and more later, the phrase became altered to 'John Henry,' and nobody knows quite why. Suffice it that, in the words of Ramon Adams's excellent collection of cowboy jargon, 'Western Words': 'John Henry is what the cowboy calls his signature. He never signs a document, he puts his 'John Henry' to it!' Incidentally, there seems to be no connection between the John Henry of cowboy slang and the fabulous John Henry of railroad lore, who was so powerful that he could outdrive a steam drill with his hammer and steel, This legend has been traced to the drilling of the Chesapeake and Ohio Big Tunnel through West Virginia in the 1870s - substantially later than the first use of John Henry by cowpokes of the Old West."

    (JOHN HENRY/JOHN HANCOCK, Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, William and Mary Morris, HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988, ISBN 006015862X );

    Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (Jonathon Green, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 2006, ISBN 0304366366) states that this usage of the phrase "John Henry" dates from the 1910s, and other synonyms for signature include "John Brown", "John D", "John Esquire", "John Handle", "John Q", "John Rogers", "John Willy" and "John Smith".
  2. a b c Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 2006, ISBN 0304366366


Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "John Henry". Image Credit.
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Topics by Level of Interest: John Henry

Topics sorted by level of Interest Level (1=low, 600=high)     Topics sorted Alphabetically Level (1=low, 600=high)
John Henry 108     John Henry 108
John Henry Newman 108     John Henry (album) 18
John Henry Irons 35     John Henry (folklore) 29
John Henry Patterson 32     John Henry (historian) 3
John Henry (folklore) 29     John Henry (horse) 23
John Henry Clarke 24     John Henry (Maryland) 10
John Henry (horse) 23     John Henry (musical) 5
John Henry Taylor 23     John Henry (New Zealand Justice) 3
John Henry (album) 18     John Henry (novel) 5
John Henry Dearle 18     John Henry (representative) 3
John Henry Baker 17     John Henry (spy) 5
John Henry Twachtman 16     John Henry (toxicologist) 10
John Henry Towers 16     John Henry Alexander 5
John Henry Want 15     John Henry Anderson 8
John Henry Patterson (author) 14     John Henry Anstice 3
John Henry Williams 14     John Henry Baker 17
The John Henry Newman School 14     John Henry Balch 8
John Henry Johnson 13     John Henry Barbee 6
John Henry Pope 12     John Henry Barrow 7
John Henry Whallen 12     John Henry Bernard 7
John Henry Whitley 12     John Henry Blunt 4
John Henry Michell 11     John Henry Boalt 3
John Henry Brown 11     John Henry Bowen 3
John Henry Kirby 11     John Henry Bremridge 3
John Henry Lloyd 11     John Henry Brown 11
John Henry Walsh 11     John Henry Browne 9
John Henry Osmeña 11     John Henry Caldwell 5
John Henry (toxicologist) 10     John Henry Carless 3
John Henry Lefroy 10     John Henry Challis 6
John Henry Hobart 10     John Henry Chamberlain 10
John Henry Chamberlain 10     John Henry Clarke 24
John Henry (Maryland) 10     John Henry Comstock 9
John Henry Browne 9     John Henry Dallmeyer 4
John Henry Kagi 9     John Henry Davies 2
John Henry Mackay 9     John Henry Days 5
John Henry Fairbank 9     John Henry Dearle 18
John Henry Waddell 9     John Henry Devitt 3
John Henry Reynolds 9     John Henry Dunn 4
John Henry Smith 9     John Henry Fairbank 9
John Henry Comstock 9     John Henry Faulk 7
John Henry Weston House (Cincinnati, Ohio) 9     John Henry Fisher 3
John Henry Patterson (soldier) 8     John Henry Foley 6
John Henry Williams (baseball) 8     John Henry Godfrey 5
John Henry Anderson 8     John Henry Goldfrap 6
John Henry Wilson 8     John Henry Gurney 4
John Henry Upshur 8     John Henry Haaren 5
John Henry Balch 8     John Henry Haines Root 3
John Henry Lawrence Phillips 8     John Henry Hayes 6
John Henry Holland 8     John Henry Henshall 4
John Henry Poynting 8     John Henry Hobart 10
John Henry Bernard 7     John Henry Hobart Brown 6
John Henry Faulk 7     John Henry Hobart Haws 3
John Henry Hopkins 7     John Henry Holland 8
John Henry Lewis 7     John Henry Hopkins 7
John Henry Reynolds (educator) 7     John Henry Hubbard 3
John Henry Barrow 7     John Henry Irons 35
John Henry Patterson (NCR owner) 7     John Henry Johnson 13
John Henry Lowther 7     John Henry Jones 3
John Henry Kinkead 7     John Henry Kagi 9
John Henry Phelan 6     John Henry Kerr 6
John Henry Hayes 6     John Henry Kinealy 3
John Henry Foley 6     John Henry Kinkead 7
John Henry Hobart Brown 6     John Henry Kirby 11
John Henry Lumpkin 6     John Henry Kirby State Forest 3
John Henry Stelle 6     John Henry Knight 5
John Henry Malamah Thomas 6     John Henry Kyl 4
John Henry Challis 6     John Henry Lake 3
John Henry Kerr 6     John Henry Lawrence Phillips 8
John Henry Barbee 6     John Henry Lefroy 10
John Henry Goldfrap 6     John Henry Lewis 7
John Henry Wright 5     John Henry Livingston 5
John Henry Alexander 5     John Henry Lloyd 11
John Henry Livingston 5     John Henry Lorimer 4
John Henry (musical) 5     John Henry Lowther 7
John Henry (spy) 5     John Henry Luers 4
John Henry Knight 5     John Henry Lumpkin 6
John Henry Mills 5     John Henry Mackay 9
John Henry Haaren 5     John Henry Malamah Thomas 6
John Henry (novel) 5     John Henry Marks 3
John Henry Nicholson 5     John Henry Maunder 4
John Henry Godfrey 5     John Henry McConnell 4
John Henry Russell 5     John Henry Michell 11
John Henry Caldwell 5     John Henry Mills 5
John Henry Wigmore 5     John Henry Morgan 5
John Henry Schwarz 5     John Henry Muirhead 4
John Henry Morgan 5     John Henry Newman 108
John Henry Days 5     John Henry Nicholson 5
John Henry Lorimer 4     John Henry of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10th Prince of Kohary 4
John Henry Vivian 4     John Henry Orr 4
John Henry Rasor 4     John Henry Osmeña 11
John Henry Dallmeyer 4     John Henry Parker 4
John Henry Parker 4     John Henry Patterson 32
John Henry Raney 4     John Henry Patterson (author) 14
John Henry Muirhead 4     John Henry Patterson (NCR owner) 7
John Henry Blunt 4     John Henry Patterson (soldier) 8
John Henry Maunder 4     John Henry Phelan 6
John Henry Pratt 4     John Henry Pope 12
John Henry Luers 4     John Henry Poynting 8
John Henry Orr 4     John Henry Pratt 4
John Henry Gurney 4     John Henry Pyle Pafford 3
John Henry of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10th Prince of Kohary 4     John Henry Raney 4
John Henry Dunn 4     John Henry Rasor 4
John Henry Kyl 4     John Henry Ratcliffe 2
John Henry Stephen Dimmer 4     John Henry Reynolds 9
John Henry McConnell 4     John Henry Reynolds (educator) 7
John Henry Henshall 4     John Henry Russell 5
John Henry Jones 3     John Henry Schwarz 5
John Henry Fisher 3     John Henry Smith 9
John Henry Boalt 3     John Henry Stelle 6
John Henry Haines Root 3     John Henry Stephen Dimmer 4
John Henry Lake 3     John Henry Taylor 23
John Henry Bremridge 3     John Henry Thorpe 3
John Henry Carless 3     John Henry Towers 16
John Henry Anstice 3     John Henry Twachtman 16
John Henry Kinealy 3     John Henry Upshur 8
John Henry Hubbard 3     John Henry Vivian 4
John Henry (representative) 3     John Henry Waddell 9
John Henry Williams (Welsh politician) 3     John Henry Walsh 11
John Henry Kirby State Forest 3     John Henry Want 15
John Henry (New Zealand Justice) 3     John Henry Weston House (Cincinnati, Ohio) 9
John Henry Thorpe 3     John Henry Whallen 12
John Henry (historian) 3     John Henry Whitley 12
John Henry Marks 3     John Henry Wigmore 5
John Henry Wilson (Kentucky) 3     John Henry Williams 14
John Henry Devitt 3     John Henry Williams (baseball) 8
John Henry Hobart Haws 3     John Henry Williams (Welsh politician) 3
John Henry Bowen 3     John Henry Wilson 8
John Henry Pyle Pafford 3     John Henry Wilson (Kentucky) 3
John Henry Davies 2     John Henry Wright 5
John Henry Ratcliffe 2     The John Henry Newman School 14

Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses).

Translations: John Henry

Language Translations (or nearest inflections or synonyms, in parentheses)
Dari امضای خود سخص (John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Dari, Iran, Indo-European, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Parsi امضای خود سخص (John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Parsi, Iran, Indo-European, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Persian امضای خود سخص (John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Persian, Iran, Indo-European, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Persian (Farsi) امضای خود سخص (John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Persian (Farsi), Iran, Indo-European, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Slovak vlastnoručný podpis (autograph, John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Slovak, Slovakia, Hungary, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Slovakian vlastnoručný podpis (autograph, John Hancock, John Henry). Additional references: Slovakian, Slovakia, Hungary, John Henry. (volunteer & more translations)
Source: Eve, based on a combination of meta analysis and graph theory (for near and back translations). Top