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metaphysical poets

(Encyclopedia)metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

Nixon, Richard Milhous

(Encyclopedia)Nixon, Richard Milhous, 1913–94, 37th President of the United States (1969–74), b. Yorba Linda, Calif. Soon after his reelection Nixon's popularity plummeted as the growing revelations of the Wa...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Yates, Richard, American fiction writer

(Encyclopedia)Yates, Richard, 1926–92, American fiction writer, b. Yonkers, N.Y. A subtle and painstaking literary craftsman who has often been considered a “writers' writer,” Yates frequently chronicles the ...

Temple, Richard Grenville-Temple, Earl

(Encyclopedia)Temple, Richard Grenville-Temple, Earl, 1711–79, British statesman; elder brother of George Grenville and brother-in-law of William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham. He succeeded to his mother's peerage in...

Hofmannsthal, Hugo von

(Encyclopedia)Hofmannsthal, Hugo von ho͞oˈgō fən hōfˈmänstäl [key], 1874–1929, Austrian dramatist and poet. His first verses were published when he was 16 years old, and his play The Death of Titian (1892...

Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, duke and earl of

(Encyclopedia)Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, duke and earl of tôlˈbət, tərkŏnˈəl [key], 1630–91, Irish Jacobite. He escaped from Ireland after Oliver Cromwell's punitive campaign there (1649) and was party to ...

Russell

(Encyclopedia)Russell, English noble family. It first appeared prominently in the reign of Henry VIII when John Russell, 1st earl of Bedford, 1486?–1555, rose to military and diplomatic importance. He was lord hi...

Burlington, Richard Boyle, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Burlington, Richard Boyle, 3d earl of, 1694–1753, English patron and architect of the Neo-Palladian movement. Even before age 21, when he became a member of the Privy Council and Lord High Treasurer...

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