(Encyclopedia) Acton, Sir John Francis Edward, 1736?–1811, Neapolitan statesman of British origin, b. Besançon, France. Called upon by Queen Marie Caroline and King Ferdinand IV of Naples (later…
(Encyclopedia) Gay, John, 1685–1732, English playwright and poet, b. Barnstaple, Devon. Educated at the local grammar school, he was apprenticed to a silk mercer for a brief time before commencing…
authorDied: January 2, 2008 (Isle of Man) Best Known as: author of the Flashman novels A British writer who wrote the Flashman novels over four decades. The…
(Encyclopedia) Brown, George, 1818–80, Canadian statesman and journalist, b. Scotland. In 1837 he emigrated to the United States, but after five years in New York City, he settled in Toronto, Ont.…
(Encyclopedia) Back, Sir George, 1796–1878, British explorer in N Canada. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions in 1818, 1819–22, and 1824–27. On an expedition (1833–35) to search…
Senate Years of Service: 1960-1962Party: DemocratSMITH, Benjamin A. II, a Senator from Massachusetts; born in Gloucester, Essex County, Mass., March 26, 1916; attended Gloucester public…
(Encyclopedia) Donne, JohnDonne, Johndŭn, dŏn [key], 1572–1631, English poet and divine. He is considered the greatest of the metaphysical poets.
All of Donne's verse—his love sonnets and his…
(Encyclopedia) Davy, Sir Humphry, 1778–1829, English chemist and physicist. The son of a woodcarver, he received his early education at Truro and was apprenticed (1795) to a surgeon-apothecary at…
(Encyclopedia) Rennie, John, 1761–1821, British civil engineer. In London he designed the Waterloo (1811–17) and Southwark (1815–19) bridges. London Bridge, also designed by him, was built (1824–31)…
(Encyclopedia) Mackenzie, Alexander, 1822–92, Canadian political leader, b. Scotland. Emigrating (1842) to Canada, he worked first as a stonemason in Kingston, Ont., and then as a builder and…
