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Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, duchess of

(Encyclopedia)Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, duchess of vĭlˈərz, vĭlˈyərz [key], 1641–1709, mistress of King Charles II of England. She became Charles's mistress at Breda in 1660 and returned with him to Engl...

Hampton Roads

(Encyclopedia)Hampton Roads, roadstead, 4 mi (6.4 km) long and 40 ft (12.2 m) deep, SE Va., through which the waters of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth rivers pass into Chesapeake Bay. One of the finest natural...

Porter, Fitz-John

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Fitz-John, 1822–1901, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Portsmouth, N.H.; nephew of David Porter. He saw service in the Mexican War and was an instructor at West Point (1849–55)....

Langdon, John

(Encyclopedia)Langdon, John, 1741–1819, American political leader, b. Portsmouth, N.H. A prosperous merchant, Langdon was active in pre-Revolutionary activities. In 1775 he became a delegate to the Continental Co...

Battle, Kathleen

(Encyclopedia)Battle, Kathleen, 1948–, African-American soprano, b. Portsmouth, Ohio. She studied voice at the Conservatory of Music at the Univ. of Cincinnati and made her debut at the Spoleto Festival in 1972. ...

Wentworth, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Wentworth, Sir John, 1737–1820, colonial governor of New Hampshire, b. Portsmouth, N.H. On the forced resignation of his uncle, Benning Wentworth, he was commissioned (Aug., 1766) to succeed him bot...

Gorton, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Gorton, Samuel, c.1592–1677, Anglo-American religious leader, founder of Warwick, R.I., b. near Manchester, England. Seeking religious freedom, he emigrated to America (1637) but, because of his uno...

Clarke, John

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, John, 1609–76, one of the founders of Rhode Island, b. Westhorpe, Suffolk, England. He emigrated to Boston in 1637 and shortly thereafter joined Anne Hutchinson (with whom he had sided in th...

Kneller, Sir Godfrey

(Encyclopedia)Kneller, Sir Godfrey gôtˈfrēt fən knĭlˈər [key], 1646–1723, English portrait painter, b. Germany. After study in Amsterdam, Rome, and Venice, he settled in England in 1675, achieving success ...

Stiles, Ezra

(Encyclopedia)Stiles, Ezra, 1727–95, American theologian and educator, b. North Haven, Conn., grad. Yale, 1746. He studied theology, was ordained in 1749, and tutored (1749–55) at Yale. Resigning from the minis...