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Hevelius, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Hevelius, Johannes yōhänˈəs hāvāˈlēo͝os [key], 1611–87, Polish astronomer, b. Danzig. From a finely equipped observatory in his house at Danzig, assisted by his wife Elizabeth, he made valu...

Ivan VI

(Encyclopedia)Ivan VI, 1740–64, czar of Russia (1740–41), great-grandson of Ivan V. He was the son of Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and of Anna Leopoldovna. An infant, he succeeded his great-a...

Williams, Betty

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Betty, 1943–2020, Northern Irish peace activist, b. Belfast as Elizabeth Smyth. In Aug., 1976, Williams, a receptionist, witnessed the death of three children when a car driven by an Irish...

Worth, Charles Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Worth, Charles Frederick, 1825–95, French and British fashion designer. He was the founder of the Maison Worth in Paris and London, the longest running fashion dynasty, and the arbiter of women's fa...

Camden, William

(Encyclopedia)Camden, William kămˈdən [key], 1551–1623, English scholar, chief historian and antiquary of Elizabethan times. His two chief works are Britannia (1586) and Annales rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicaru...

Lennox, Matthew Stuart, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Lennox, Matthew Stuart or Stewart, 4th earl of lĕnˈəks [key], 1516–71, Scottish nobleman. Related to the royal family, being next in the line of succession to the throne after James Hamilton, 2d ...

Boleyn, Anne

(Encyclopedia)Boleyn, Anne bo͝olˈĭn, bo͝olĭnˈ [key], 1507?–1536, second queen consort of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, later earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde,...

Mary Queen of Scots

(Encyclopedia)Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), 1542–87, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Through her grandmother Margaret Tudor, Mary had the strongest claim to the throne of England after t...

Ludlow, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Ludlow, Roger, b. 1590, d. after 1664, one of the founders of Connecticut, b. England. Educated at Oxford and admitted to the Inner Temple to study law, he was elected (1630) an assistant of the Massa...

Lake District

(Encyclopedia)Lake District, region of mountains and lakes, c.30 mi (50 km) in diameter, Cumbria, NW England. It includes the Cumbrian Mts. and part of the Furness peninsula. The district comprises 15 lakes, among ...