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Harington, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Harington, Sir John, 1560?–1612, English author. He spent most of his career at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, where he became known for his indelicate humor. His Rabelaisian Metamorphosis of Ajax ...

John, king of England

(Encyclopedia)John, 1167–1216, king of England (1199–1216), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. John, though often cruel and treacherous, was an excellent administrator, much concerned with rendering...

Lawes, Sir John Bennet

(Encyclopedia)Lawes, Sir John Bennet, 1814–1900, English agriculturist. He founded the famous experimental farm at Rothamsted, where, with the English chemist Sir J. H. Gilbert, he experimented with plants and an...

Wesley, John

(Encyclopedia)Wesley, John, 1703–91, English evangelical preacher, founder of Methodism, b. Epworth, Lincolnshire. After his conversion, Wesley became involved in evangelistic work, in the course of which he is...

John the Fearless

(Encyclopedia)John the Fearless, 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19); son of Philip the Bold. He fought against the Turks at Nikopol in 1396 and was a prisoner for a year until he was ransomed. He continued h...

Trelawny, Edward John

(Encyclopedia)Trelawny, Edward John, 1792–1881, English adventurer. A friend of Byron and Shelley, he was at Livorno when Shelley was drowned, and later served with Byron in the Greek War of Independence. He wrot...

Galsworthy, John

(Encyclopedia)Galsworthy, John gôlzˈwûrᵺē, gălzˈ– [key], 1867–1933, English novelist and dramatist. Winner of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature, he is best remembered for his series of novels tracing t...

Vane, Sir Henry, 1613–62, English statesman

(Encyclopedia)Vane, Sir Henry, 1613–62, English statesman; son of Sir Henry Vane (1589–1655). Early converted to Puritanism, he went to New England in 1635 and became governor of Massachusetts in 1636. His reli...

Marston, John

(Encyclopedia)Marston, John, 1576–1634, English satirist and dramatist, b. Oxfordshire, grad. Oxford, 1594. In accordance with his father's wishes he studied law at Middle Temple, but his interests soon turned to...

Berners, John Bourchier, 2d Baron

(Encyclopedia)Berners, John Bourchier, 2d Baron bouˈchər, bûrˈnərz [key], 1467–1533, English diplomat and man of letters. A member of Parliament from 1495 to 1529, he later became chancellor of the exchequer...