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Joan of Kent

(Encyclopedia)Joan of Kent, 1328–85, English noblewoman; daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I. She early gained wide note for her beauty and charm, though the appellation Fair M...

Dowland, John

(Encyclopedia)Dowland, John douˈlənd [key], 1563–1626, English composer, unsurpassed in his day as a lutenist. His books of Songs or Ayres (1597–1603) established him as the foremost song composer of his time...

Plumb, Sir John Harold

(Encyclopedia)Plumb, Sir John Harold, 1911–2001, British historian. Educated at the universities of Leicester (B.A., 1933) and Cambridge (Ph.D., 1936), he remained at Cambridge as a research fellow from 1938 and ...

Sinha, Satyendra Prassano, 1st Baron Sinha of Raipur

(Encyclopedia)Sinha, Satyendra Prassano, 1st Baron Sinha of Raipur sətĕnˈdrə prəsänˈô sĭnˈhä [key], 1864–1928, Indian statesman. A successful lawyer, he was the first Indian to hold several important a...

Smyth, John

(Encyclopedia)Smyth or Smith, John, c.1554–1612, English nonconformist clergyman and early believer in adult baptism. Influenced by the Brownists, he separated from the Church of England and became (1606) ministe...

John II, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John II (John the Perfect), 1455–95, king of Portugal (1481–95), son and successor of Alfonso V. He was an astute politician and statesman and a patron of Renaissance art and learning. He reduced ...

John III, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...

Cunningham, Andrew Browne, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Andrew Browne, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope hīndˈhōp [key], 1883–1963, British admiral. A long-seasoned naval officer—he fought in the South African War and World War I—Cun...

Stuart, James Francis Edward

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, James Francis Edward, 1688–1766, claimant to the British throne, son of James II and Mary of Modena; called the Old Pretender. His birth, falsely rumored by Whigs at the time to b...

Jeffreys of Wem, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Jeffreys of Wem, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron, 1645?–1689, English judge under Charles II and James II. A notoriously cruel judge, he presided over many of the trials connected with the Popish Plot (s...