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Boswell, James

(Encyclopedia)Boswell, James, 1740–95, Scottish author, b. Edinburgh; son of a distinguished judge. At his father's insistence the young Boswell reluctantly studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1766, he practiced ...

Bowdoin, James

(Encyclopedia)Bowdoin, James bōˈdən [key], 1726–90, American political leader, b. Boston. He was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in 1753 and served until 1774. Illness prevented him (1774) from taki...

Bowie, James

(Encyclopedia)Bowie, James bo͞oˈē, bōˈē [key], c.1796–1836, American frontiersman, b. Logan co., Ky. With his brother, Rezin, he engaged in land speculation in Louisiana and Arkansas. In Texas from 1828, Bo...

Blair, James

(Encyclopedia)Blair, James, 1656–1743, Church of England clergyman, missionary to colonial Virginia, and founder of the College of William and Mary, b. Scotland. At the request of the bishop of London, Blair trav...

Bradley, James

(Encyclopedia)Bradley, James, 1693–1762, English astronomer. His discovery of the aberration of light, announced in 1728, provided an important line of evidence for the motion of the earth around the sun. In 1742...

Adam, James

(Encyclopedia)Adam, James: see Adam, Robert.

Abercromby, James

(Encyclopedia)Abercromby, James, 1706–81, British general in the French and Indian Wars, b. Scotland. He arrived in America in 1756 and in 1758 replaced the earl of Loudoun as supreme British commander. After fai...

Agee, James

(Encyclopedia)Agee, James āˈjē [key], 1909–55, American writer, b. Knoxville, Tenn., grad. Harvard, 1932. He soon joined the literary and journalistic life of New York City, becoming (1932) a writer for Fortun...

James, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Charles, James, 1906–78, American fashion designer known primarily for his high-style couture creations, b. Sandhurst, England. Although he had no formal training in dressmaking, he is generally con...

James, Etta

(Encyclopedia)James, Etta, 1938–2012, American singer, b. Los Angeles as Jamesetta Hawkins. She began singing in church and had her first hit record, “Roll with Me, Henry” (or “The Wallflower”), at 15. Ja...

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