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McGuffey, William Holmes

(Encyclopedia)McGuffey, William Holmes məgŭfˈē [key], 1800–1873, American educator, b. near Claysville, Pa. He was graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 1826, having meanwhile taught in rural sch...

Cosgrave, William Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Cosgrave, William Thomas kŏzˈgrāv [key], 1880–1965, Irish statesman; father of Liam Cosgrave. A member of Sinn Féin, he fought in the Easter Rebellion (1916) and was sentenced to life imprisonme...

William II, king of England

(Encyclopedia)William II or William Rufus ro͞oˈfus [key], d. 1100, king of England (1087–1100), son and successor of William I. He was called William Rufus or William the Red because of his ruddy complexion. Hi...

Rankine, William John Macquorn

(Encyclopedia)Rankine, William John Macquorn răngˈkĭn [key], 1820–72, Scottish engineer and physicist. Serving as a professor of engineering at the Univ. of Glasgow from 1855, he made valuable contributions to...

Tolbert, William Richard, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Tolbert, William Richard, Jr. tŏlˈbərt [key], 1913–80, president of Liberia (1971–80). In government since 1935, he was vice president (1951–71), succeeding to the Presidency upon Tubman's de...

Leonard, William Ellery

(Encyclopedia)Leonard, William Ellery, 1876–1944, American poet, b. Plainfield, N.J., grad. Boston Univ., 1899, Ph.D. Columbia, 1904. For many years he was professor of English at the Univ. of Wisconsin. Of his n...

Mackenzie, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Mackenzie, Sir William, 1849–1923, Canadian railroad builder and financier, b. Ontario. In the early 1870s he became a railroad contractor. He constructed portions of the Canadian National and the C...

Richardson, William Adams

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, William Adams, 1821–96, American jurist and U.S. secretary of the Treasury, b. Tyngsboro, Mass. Admitted to the bar in 1846, he helped to codify the statute law of Massachusetts in 1855....

Parker, Horatio William

(Encyclopedia)Parker, Horatio William, 1863–1919, American composer, b. Auburndale, Mass.; pupil of Rheinberger in Munich. He was an organist and choirmaster in Boston and New York City and taught at the National...

Wirt, William Albert

(Encyclopedia)Wirt, William Albert, 1874–1938, American educator, b. Markle, Ind., grad. DePauw Univ. (Ph.B., 1898; Ph.D., 1916). In 1907 he became superintendent of schools in Gary, Ind., where he developed a pl...