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Goffe, William

(Encyclopedia)Goffe, William gôf [key], d. c.1679, English soldier and regicide. A personal adherent of Oliver Cromwell, he fought in the English civil war, signed the death warrant of Charles I, and became an adm...

Bligh, William

(Encyclopedia)Bligh, William blī [key], 1754–1817, British admiral. He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty, but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. Ja...

Painter, William

(Encyclopedia)Painter, William, 1540?–1594, English translator. His Palace of Pleasure (1566–67)—a collection of translations from Boccaccio, the Heptameron, and many other sources—was drawn upon by Shakesp...

Prynne, William

(Encyclopedia)Prynne, William prĭn [key], 1600–1669, English political figure and Puritan pamphleteer. Beginning his attacks on Arminian doctrine in 1627, he soon earned the enmity of William Laud. When Prynne's...

Mathews, Shailer

(Encyclopedia)Mathews, Shailer, 1863–1941, American theologian, educator, and author, b. Portland, Maine, studied at Colby College, at Newton Theological Institution, and at the Univ. of Berlin. After seven years...

Bentley, William

(Encyclopedia)Bentley, William, 1759–1819, American Unitarian clergyman, b. Boston. From 1783 until his death he was pastor of East Church, Salem, Mass. His Diary (4 vol., 1905–14), covering the years 1784–18...

Huskisson, William

(Encyclopedia)Huskisson, William hŭsˈkĭsən [key], 1770–1830, British statesman. First elected to Parliament in 1796, he was secretary of the treasury (1804–5, 1807–9) but resigned with his close associate...

Frankland, William

(Encyclopedia)Frankland, William (Alfred William Frankland), 1912–2020, British allergist and immunologist. He studied medicine at Queens College, Oxford, and St. Mary's Hospital Medical School (now part of Imper...

William the Silent

(Encyclopedia)William the Silent or William of Orange (William I, prince of Orange), 1533–84, Dutch statesman, principal founder of Dutch independence. William married four times. His first wife was Anne of Egm...

Dodd, William

(Encyclopedia)Dodd, William, 1729–77, English author. At one time king's chaplain, he ran heavily into debt, forged a bond, and was sentenced to death. Dr. Johnson led a movement to obtain clemency, but Dodd was ...