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Espy, James Pollard

(Encyclopedia)Espy, James Pollard ĕsˈpē [key], 1785–1860, American meteorologist. He developed a convection theory of storms, explaining it in 1836 before the American Philosophical Society and in 1840 before ...

Duane, James Chatham

(Encyclopedia)Duane, James Chatham, 1824–97, American army engineer, b. Schenectady, N.Y., grad. Union College, 1844, and West Point, 1848; grandson of James Duane. In the Civil War he organized the engineer equi...

Ledyard, William

(Encyclopedia)Ledyard, William lĕdˈyərd [key], 1738–81, American Revolutionary officer, b. Groton, Conn. In 1781, as commander of Fort Griswold (near Groton), he refused to surrender, despite threats of massac...

Savery, William

(Encyclopedia)Savery, William sāˈvərē [key], 1721–87, American cabinetmaker. He is believed to have lived in Philadelphia from c.1740. Savery is noted for his artistic and original interpretation of 18th-cent...

Combe, William

(Encyclopedia)Combe, William ko͝om, kōm [key], 1741–1823, English satirist and miscellaneous writer, b. Bristol. His writing was mainly hack work, issued anonymously to avoid seizure of the proceeds by his many...

Paca, William

(Encyclopedia)Paca, William pāˈkə, păkˈə [key], 1740–99, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near Abingdon, Md. A lawyer and Maryland legislator, he se...

Maginn, William

(Encyclopedia)Maginn, William məgĭnˈ [key], 1793–1842, Irish writer. Some of his best stories and essays appeared in Blackwood's Magazine. His short story “Bob Burke's Duel with Ensign Brady” is considered...

Rockefeller, William

(Encyclopedia)Rockefeller, William, 1841–1922, American financier, b. Tioga co., N.Y.; brother of John D. Rockefeller. He joined (1865) his brother in the oil-refining business. William was a successful stock mar...

Dudok, William

(Encyclopedia)Dudok, William do͞oˈdôk [key], 1884–1974, Dutch architect. Dudok developed a dignified, widely influential style emphasizing the horizontal and utilizing an asymmetric effect with cubic groupings...

Grocyn, William

(Encyclopedia)Grocyn, William grōˈsĭn [key], 1446?–1519, English humanist. An associate of John Colet and Thomas Linacre, he reputedly introduced the teaching of Greek at Oxford. ...