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Macpherson, James

(Encyclopedia)Macpherson, James, 1736–96, Scottish author. Educated at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he spent his early years as a schoolmaster. In later life he held a colonial secretaryship in West Florida (1764–66...

Ossian

(Encyclopedia)Ossian əshēnˈ [key], legendary Gaelic poet, supposedly the son of Finn mac Cumhail, hero of a cycle of tales and poems that place his deeds of valor in the 3d cent. a.d. These traditional tales wer...

Finn mac Cumhail

(Encyclopedia)Finn mac Cumhail, Fionn mac Cumhail, or Finn MacCool all: fĭn məko͞olˈ [key], semimythical Irish hero. His exploits are recorded in long narrative poems by Ossian and in many ballads, called Feni...

Chatterton, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Chatterton, Thomas, 1752–70, English poet. The posthumous son of a poor Bristol schoolmaster, he was already composing the “Rowley Poems” at the age of 12, claiming they were copies of 15th-cent...

Leichhardt, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Leichhardt, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm lo͞odˈvĭkh līkhˈhärt [key], 1813–1848?, Prussian explorer of Australia. He led (1844–45) an expedition from Moreton Bay to Port ...

Baldwin, James

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, James, 1924–87, American author, b. New York City. He spent an impoverished boyhood in Harlem, became a Pentecostal preacher at 14, and left the church three years later. He moved to Paris ...

Ballantyne, James

(Encyclopedia)Ballantyne, James bălˈəntīn [key], 1772–1833, Scottish editor and publisher. Ballantyne and his brother John set up a publishing business in Edinburgh with the aid of Sir Walter Scott. The firm ...

Barron, James

(Encyclopedia)Barron, James, 1768–1851, U.S. naval officer, b. Hampton, Va. Of a seafaring family, he served in the Virginia navy in the Revolution, entered the U.S. navy as a lieutenant in 1798, and held command...

Bogardus, James

(Encyclopedia)Bogardus, James bōgärˈdəs [key], 1800–1874, American architect, b. Catskill, N.Y. Among the first to use cast iron in the construction of building facades, Bogardus was noted for his commercial ...

Bolger, James

(Encyclopedia)Bolger, James bōlˈjər [key], 1935–, New Zealand political leader. A sheep rancher, he entered Parliament in 1972 as a member of the National party. In Robert Muldoon's government, he served as mi...