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Ayton, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ayton or Aytoun, Sir Robert both: āˈtən [key], 1570–1638, English poet and courtier. He was private secretary to the queens of James I and Charles I, besides holding other posts of honor. He wrot...

Howard, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Howard, Sir Robert, 1626–98, English dramatist. He held several important government posts under Charles II. His introduction to his Foure New Plays (1665) initiated a dispute with his brother-in-la...

Urquhart, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Urquhart or Urchard, Sir Thomas both: ûrˈkərt [key], 1611–60, Scottish translator and author. A royalist, he was knighted (1641) by Charles I and fought in the civil wars. He wrote treatises on m...

Bliss, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Bliss, Sir Arthur, 1891–1975, English composer. Bliss's teachers included Charles Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst. He was made Master of the Queen's Musick in 1953. His early work...

Lemonnier, Pierre Charles

(Encyclopedia)Lemonnier, Pierre Charles pyĕr shärl ləmônyāˈ [key], 1715–99, French astronomer. For many years he was professor of physics at the Collège de France. He studied the moon and the influence of ...

Chamberlain, Sir Austen

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlain, Sir Austen (Joseph Austen Chamberlain) chāmˈbərlĭn [key], 1863–1937, British statesman; son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. He entered Parliament as a...

Temple, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Temple, Sir William, 1628–99, English diplomat and author. He was married in 1655 to Dorothy Osborne. They settled in Ireland, and in 1661 Temple entered the Irish parliament. He moved (1663) to Eng...

Macready, William Charles

(Encyclopedia)Macready, William Charles məkrēˈdē [key], 1793–1873, English actor and manager. The son of a provincial manager, he first appeared as Romeo in his father's company in 1810. His London debut (181...

Lely, Sir Peter

(Encyclopedia)Lely, Sir Peter lēˈlē [key], 1618–80, Dutch portrait painter in England. His original name was Pieter van der Faes. He studied in Haarlem but worked in England from c.1643. After the death of Van...

Pugin, Augustus Charles

(Encyclopedia)Pugin, Augustus Charles pyo͞oˈjĭn [key], 1762–1832, English writer on medieval architecture, b. France. His writings and drawings furnished a mass of working material for the architects of the Go...