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Perley, Sir George Halsey

(Encyclopedia)Perley, Sir George Halsey, 1857–1938, Canadian statesman, b. Lebanon, N.H. As a child, he moved with his parents to Ottawa. In 1904 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative,...

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey

(Encyclopedia)Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 1537?–1583, English soldier, navigator, and explorer; half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Knighted (1570) for his service in the campaigns in Ireland, he later (1572) served i...

Johnson, Samuel, English author

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Samuel, 1709–84, English author, b. Lichfield. The leading literary scholar and critic of his time, Johnson helped to shape and define the Augustan Age. He was equally celebrated for his br...

Lindsay, Sir David

(Encyclopedia)Lindsay or Lyndsay, Sir David both: lĭnˈzē [key], c.1490–c.1555, Scottish poet. He was a courtier and diplomat by profession. As a writer he was a harsh satirist and moralist who directed most of...

Dugdale, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Dugdale, Sir William, 1605–86, English antiquarian. His chief works are Antiquities of Warwickshire (1656), The Baronage of England (1675–76), and the greater part of Monasticon Anglicanum (3 vol....

Kermode, Sir Frank

(Encyclopedia)Kermode, Sir Frank kärˈmədē [key], 1919–2010, English critic, b. Douglas, Isle of Man. Educated at Liverpool Univ. (grad. 1940) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War II, Kermode wa...

Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese

(Encyclopedia)Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese, 1920–2004, Fijian political leader. A paramount chief of the Lau Islands, he was educated in Fiji, New Zealand, and England, founded (1960) the Alliance party, and helped ne...

Thomson, James , 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, James, 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist. He is remembered for his darkly pessimistic poem The City of Dreadful Night. He was raised in an orphan asylum and became (1851) an army teacher ...

Thomas, Ambroise

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Ambroise äNbrwäzˈ tōmäˈ [key], 1811–96, French operatic composer, studied at the Paris Conservatory, receiving the Prix de Rome in 1832. He later taught composition there and became it...

John of Austria, 1629–79, Spanish general and statesman

(Encyclopedia)John of Austria, 1629–79, Spanish general and statesman; illegitimate son of Philip IV. He helped put down Masaniello's revolt (1647) in Naples, was viceroy of Sicily (1648–51), and fought (1651�...