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Leslie, David

(Encyclopedia)Leslie, David, d. 1682, Scottish military commander. After serving in the Swedish army, he was a major general under his uncle, Alexander Leslie, 1st earl of Leven, in the Scottish army that joined th...

Hume, David

(Encyclopedia)Hume, David hyo͞om [key], 1711–76, Scottish philosopher and historian. Educated at Edinburgh, he lived (1734–37) in France, where he finished his first philosophical work, A Treatise of Human Nat...

Wyss, Johann David

(Encyclopedia)Wyss, Johann David yōˈhän däˈvĭt vēs [key], 1743–1818, Swiss author. His Swiss Family Robinson (1813, tr. 1814), an internationally popular classic for children, relates the adventures of a s...

Ginsburg, Christian David

(Encyclopedia)Ginsburg, Christian David gĭnzˈbərg [key], 1831–1914, English Hebrew scholar, b. Warsaw. He was converted to Christianity in 1846 and settled in England. He translated (1857) the Song of Songs, w...

Hogarth, David George

(Encyclopedia)Hogarth, David George hōˈgärth [key], 1862–1927, English archaeologist, keeper (1909–27) of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. He explored and excavated (1887–1907) in Cyprus, Crete, Egypt, Syria,...

David, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)David, d. c.970 b.c., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 b.c.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Sau...

Rittenhouse, David

(Encyclopedia)Rittenhouse, David, 1732–96, American astronomer and instrument maker, b. near Germantown, Pa., self-educated. A clockmaker by trade, he developed great skill in the making of mathematical instrumen...

Humphreys, David

(Encyclopedia)Humphreys, David, 1752–1818, American diplomat and poet, b. present Ansonia (then in Derby), Conn. His military talents and patriotism won the friendship of General Washington and a place on his sta...

Abernathy, Ralph David

(Encyclopedia)Abernathy, Ralph David ăbˈərnăthˌē [key], 1926–90, American civil-rights leader, b. Linden, Ala. A Baptist minister, he helped Martin Luther King, Jr., organize the Montgomery bus boycott (195...

Broderick, David Colbreth

(Encyclopedia)Broderick, David Colbreth brōˈdərĭk [key], 1820–59, American politician, b. Washington, D.C. Brought up in New York City, he was active in Tammany Hall before moving to California in 1849. He be...