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Bartram, William

(Encyclopedia)Bartram, William, 1739–1823, American naturalist, b. Philadelphia; son of John Bartram. He is known chiefly for his Travels (1791), in which he describes his journey (1773–77) through the Carolina...

Smith, William

(Encyclopedia)Smith, William, 1769–1839, English geologist. Through direct observation as a canal-site surveyor, Smith made a systematic study of the geological strata of England and identified the fossils peculi...

Burgis, William

(Encyclopedia)Burgis, William bûrˈjĭs [key], fl. 1717–31, American engraver and publisher of maps and views, b. London. His name appears as publisher on the views South Prospect of ye Flourishing City of New Y...

Camden, William

(Encyclopedia)Camden, William kămˈdən [key], 1551–1623, English scholar, chief historian and antiquary of Elizabethan times. His two chief works are Britannia (1586) and Annales rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicaru...

sweet William

(Encyclopedia)sweet William: see pink.

Pickering, William

(Encyclopedia)Pickering, William: see Whittingham, Charles. ...

Scoresby, William

(Encyclopedia)Scoresby, William skôrzˈbē [key], 1789–1857, English arctic explorer and scientist. He made yearly voyages (1803–22) to Greenland, at first on his father's whaler, later as captain on other shi...

Sharp, William

(Encyclopedia)Sharp, William, pseud. Fiona Macleod fēˈnə məkloudˈ, fēōˈnə [key], 1855–1905, Scottish poet and man of letters. Under his own name he wrote literary biographies; poems, including the volume...

Gillette, William

(Encyclopedia)Gillette, William jəlĕtˈ [key], 1853–1937, American actor and dramatist, b. Hartford, Conn. His New York debut in Mark Twain's Gilded Age (1877) was shortly followed by his own first play, The Pr...

Cavendish, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Cavendish, Henry, 1731–1810, English physicist and chemist, b. Nice. He was the son of Lord Charles Cavendish and grandson of the 2d duke of Devonshire. He was a recluse, and most of his writings we...