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Hewlett, William Redington

(Encyclopedia)Hewlett, William Redington hyo͞oˈlĭt [key], 1913–2001, American engineer and business executive, b. Ann Arbor, Mich., grad. Stanford (B.S. 1934, Engineer 1939), Massachusetts Institute of Technol...

Burroughs, William Seward

(Encyclopedia)Burroughs, William Seward, 1914–97, American novelist, b. St. Louis, grad. Harvard, 1936, moved to New York City, 1943. He was an elder member of the beat generation. Junkie (1953), originally publi...

Beresford, William Carr Beresford, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Beresford, William Carr Beresford, Viscount, 1768–1854, British general. He served with distinction in Egypt (1801–3) and participated (1806) in the capture of Cape Colony (later Cape Province, So...

Coke, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Coke, Thomas William ko͝ok [key], 1752–1842, English agricultural reformer. Created earl of Leicester of Holkham in 1837, he was known as Coke of Holkham. He improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and h...

Collins, William

(Encyclopedia)Collins, William, 1721–59, English poet. He was one of the great lyricists of the 18th cent. While he was still at Oxford he published Persian Ecologues (1742), which was written when he was 17. Uns...

Drummond, William

(Encyclopedia)Drummond, William, 1585–1649, Scottish poet. He was educated at Edinburgh and in France, retiring in 1610 to Hawthornden, where he spent his life as a gentleman of letters. His first volume of verse...

Grattan, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Grattan, Henry grătˈən [key], 1746–1820, Irish statesman. A lawyer, he entered (1775) the Irish Parliament and soon became known as a brilliant orator. Aided by Britain's preoccupation with the A...

Safire, William L.

(Encyclopedia)Safire, William L. săfˈīrˌ [key], 1929–2009, American journalist and speechwriter, b. New York City as William Safir. A former reporter and public-relations executive, he became a speechwriter (...

Bouguereau, Adolphe William

(Encyclopedia)Bouguereau, Adolphe William ädôlfˈ, bo͞ogrōˈ [key], 1825–1905, French academic painter. He won the Prix de Rome in 1850 and became extremely popular during the 1860s and 70s. He is famous for ...

Nuffield, William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Nuffield, William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount nŭfˈēld [key], 1877–1963, English automobile manufacturer and philanthropist. Beginning his career as the proprietor of a bicycle shop, he later bec...