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Meredith, George

(Encyclopedia)Meredith, George, 1828–1909, English novelist and poet. One of the great English novelists, Meredith wrote complex, often comic yet highly cerebral works that contain striking psychological characte...

Gbowee, Leymah Roberta

(Encyclopedia)Gbowee, Leymah Roberta lāˈmä, bōwēˈ [key], 1972–, Liberian peace activist. A social worker and trauma counselor, she worked with ex-child soldiers from Charles Taylor's army, joined the Women ...

Kean, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Kean, Edmund, 1787?–1833, English actor. Kean's acting expressed the ideal of the romantic temperament. A small man with a wild spirit and a gruff voice, he was lauded for his facial mobility; accor...

O'Connor, Feargus

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Feargus fûrˈgəs [key], 1794–1855, Irish Chartist leader. Elected to the Parliament of 1832 as a supporter of Daniel O'Connell, he soon quarreled with O'Connell and was forced out of Par...

Muir, Edwin

(Encyclopedia)Muir, Edwin, 1887–1959, British author, b. Orkney Islands, Scotland. He moved with his family to Glasgow in 1901, where he remained for 18 years. In 1919 he went to London and joined the staff on th...

MacKay, Peter Gordon

(Encyclopedia)MacKay, Peter Gordon məkāˈ [key], 1966–, Canadian politician, b. New Glasgow, N.S. A lawyer who briefly worked (1992–93) in Germany, MacKay returned to his native Nova Scotia in 1993 and became...

Reid, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Reid, Thomas, 1710–96, Scottish philosopher. He taught at King's College, Aberdeen, and at the Univ. of Glasgow. He is known as the founder of the common-sense school of philosophy, also known as th...

Bain, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Bain, Alexander, 1818–1903, Scottish philosopher and psychologist. He was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he later taught for three years. He taught one year (1845) at Anderson's Univ...

Hutcheson, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Hutcheson, Francis hŭchˈəsən [key], 1694–1746, British philosopher, b. Co. Down, Ireland. He was a professor at the Univ. of Glasgow from 1729 until his death. His reputation rests on four essay...

Addams, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Addams, Jane, 1860–1935, American social worker, b. Cedarville, Ill., grad. Rockford College, 1881. In 1889, with Ellen Gates Starr, she founded Hull House in Chicago, one of the first social settle...