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Paxton, Sir Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Paxton, Sir Joseph, 1803–65, English architect, noted for his use of glass and iron in a proto-modern manner. Beginning his career as a gardener and estate manager, he then built two greenhouses at ...

Thornhill, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Thornhill, Sir James, 1676–1734, English decorative artist. George I made him court painter and later knighted him. He executed decorations in Hampton Court and the cupola of St. Paul's, London; the...

Robinson, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Sir Robert, 1886–1975, British chemist, D.Sc. Univ. of Manchester, 1910. Robinson taught at the universities of Sydney (1912–15), Liverpool (1915–20), St. Andrews (1921–22), Manchest...

Goldie, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Goldie, Sir George (George Goldie Taubman), 1846–1925, British colonial administrator, b. Isle of Man. Goldie entered the Niger River trade in the 1870s, and his company soon dominated trade on the ...

Parker, Sir Hyde

(Encyclopedia)Parker, Sir Hyde, 1739–1807, British admiral. In the American Revolution he broke (1776) the defenses of the Hudson River at New York City—an exploit for which he was knighted in 1779. He later he...

Hale, Sir Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Hale, Sir Matthew, 1609–76, English jurist. He was successively a judge in the Court of Common Pleas (1654), chief baron of the Exchequer (1660), and chief justice of the Court of King's Bench (1671...

Sloane, Sir Hans

(Encyclopedia)Sloane, Sir Hans, 1660–1753, British physican and naturalist, president of the Royal College of Physicians (1719–35) and of the Royal Society (1727–40). His collection of botanical specimens (so...

Somers, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Somers, Sir George, 1554–1610, English naval commander. The leader of several successful privateering ventures against the Spanish, he was knighted in 1603. He was a founder (1606) of the London Com...

Bacon, Sir Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 1509–79, English jurist. Called to the bar in 1533, he was made attorney of the court of wards and liveries in 1546 and, although a staunch Protestant, held this office through ...

Wotton, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wotton, Sir Henry, 1568–1639, English poet and diplomat, b. Kent. He was secretary to the earl of Essex and later became a favorite of James I, who knighted him and appointed him ambassador to Venic...