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Johnson, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Sir William, 1715–74, British colonial leader in America, b. Co. Meath, Ireland. He settled (1738) in the Mohawk valley, became a merchant, and gained great power among the Mohawk and other...

James, Thomas, American fur trader and pioneer

(Encyclopedia)James, Thomas, 1782–1847, American fur trader and pioneer, b. Maryland. He accompanied the 1809 expedition of the Missouri Fur Company up the Missouri River. He left the expedition at the Mandan vil...

Hopkins, Mark, American railroad builder and merchant

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Mark, 1813–78, American railroad builder and merchant, b. Henderson, N.Y. A clerk in a village store and later a commission merchant in New York City, he was more than 35 years old when he ...

De Forest, John William

(Encyclopedia)De Forest, John William də fôrˈəst, fŏrˈ– [key], 1826–1906, American author, b. Seymour, Conn. He served in the Civil War, chiefly as a captain. His vivid accounts of battle scenes in Louisi...

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...

O'Brien, William Shoney

(Encyclopedia)O'Brien, William Shoney, c.1826–1878, American silver magnate, b. Dublin, Ireland. He was brought to the United States as a child and worked in a New York grocery store before going to California in...

Stanley, William Meredith

(Encyclopedia)Stanley, William Meredith, 1904–71, American biochemist, b. Ridgeville, Ind., Ph.D. Univ. of Illinois, 1929. He was a professor at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller Uni...

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...

transcendentalism , American literary and philosophical movement

(Encyclopedia)transcendentalism trănˌsĕndĕnˈtəlĭzəm [key] [Lat.,=overpassing], in literature, philosophical and literary movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to 1860. It originated among ...

Isaacs, Sir Isaac Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Isaacs, Sir Isaac Alfred īˈzəks [key], 1855–1948, Australian jurist and political leader. He sat in the colonial legislature (1892–1901), became solicitor general (1893), and served as attorney...