Historic American Johnny (3)

I believe the answer is:
reb
This could be a double definition.
'historic american' is the first definition.
'Reb' can be an answer for 'american' (Reb is an example). I am not certain of the 'historic' bit.
'johnny' is the second definition.
(synonyms)
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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