John Henry

John Henry

John Henry may refer to:

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

Real people

* 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 (historian), a historian of science associated with the Strong Programme
*John Henry (New Zealand Justice), a New Zealand Privy Councillor and Court of Appeal Justice
*John Vernon Henry (1767-1829), NY State Comptroller 1800-1801

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" [An alternate expression commonly used as a synonym for "signature" is "John Henry":quotation
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."
( [http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/10/messages/147.html "JOHN HENRY/JOHN HANCOCK"] , Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, William and Mary Morris, HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988, ISBN 006015862X ); [http://books.google.com/books?id=my_ut0maeV4C&pg=PA808&lpg=PA808&dq=%22john+henry%22+%22john+hancock%22&source=web&ots=l222gQw3xC&sig=_ZdQgAm3Yy1GEudkK6pYnRWtlAI "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".
]
*A snack lunch eaten in the field (Texas prison slang) [http://books.google.com/books?id=my_ut0maeV4C&pg=PA808&lpg=PA808&dq=%22john+henry%22+%22john+hancock%22&source=web&ots=l222gQw3xC&sig=_ZdQgAm3Yy1GEudkK6pYnRWtlAI "Cassell's Dictionary of Slang"] , Jonathon Green, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 2006, ISBN 0304366366]
*A penis, variation on John Thomas
*To "play John Henry", to approach a woman
*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
*"The Day John Henry Died" is a song by the Drive-By Truckers from their 2004 album "The Dirty South"

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Henry — ist der Name von: John F. Henry (* 1943), Wirtschaftswissenschaftler John W. Henry (* 1949), US amerikanischer Unternehmer John Henry (Politiker) (1750–1798), US amerikanischer Politiker John Henry (Historiker) (* 1950), britischer Historiker… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John\ Henry — • John Hancock • John Henry noun informal Your signature; your name in writing. The man said, Put your John Hancock on this paper. Joe felt proud when he put his John Henry on his very first driver s license …   Словарь американских идиом

  • John Henry — • John Henry • John Hancock signature Please sign your John Henry here and we will process your order right away …   Idioms and examples

  • John Henry — ☆ John Henry1 n. Informal one s signature John Henry2 n. American Folklore the hero, usually depicted as black, of an American ballad, who died after a contest pitting his strength with a sledge hammer against that of a steam drill …   English World dictionary

  • John Henry — pl. John Henries for 1. 1. Informal. a person s signature. 2. U.S. Folklore. a legendary black man of exceptional strength and stamina. [1910 15, Amer.; from the proper name] * * * ▪ folk hero       hero of a widely sung U.S. black folk ballad.… …   Universalium

  • John Henry — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Folklore John Henry, héros du folklore américain ; Patronyme John Henry, historien des sciences britannique ; Peinture John Henry, peintre… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John Henry — noun Etymology: from the name John Henry, from confusion with John Hancock Date: circa 1914 an autograph signature …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • John Henry — signature, signed name    To give you a refund, we need your John Henry on this form …   English idioms

  • John Henry (folklore) — John Henry is an American folk hero, who has been the subject of numerous songs, stories, plays, and novels. Like other Big Men such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, and Iron John, John Henry also served as a mythical representation of a group within… …   Wikipedia

  • John Henry Mackay — (* 6. November 1864 in Greenock bei Glasgow, Schottland; † 16. Mai 1933 in Berlin Charlottenburg) war ein deutscher Schriftsteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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