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Beaumont, William

(Encyclopedia)Beaumont, William, 1785–1853, American physician, b. Lebanon, Conn. He was privately educated and was licensed (1812) to practice in Vermont. His Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice an...

Beckford, William

(Encyclopedia)Beckford, William, 1760–1844, English author. A wealthy dilettante, Beckford had a great desire to ascend to the nobility. Unfortunately his erratic and strange behavior often worked against his amb...

Beebe, William

(Encyclopedia)Beebe, William (Charles William Beebe) bēˈbē [key], 1877–1962, American ornithologist, explorer, and author, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., B.S. Columbia, 1898. He became (1899) curator of ornithology and la...

Billings, William

(Encyclopedia)Billings, William, 1746–1800, American hymn composer, b. Boston. A tanner by trade, he was one of the earliest American-born composers. He wrote popular hymns and sacred choruses of great vitality u...

Benbow, William

(Encyclopedia)Benbow, William, fl. 1825–40, English pamphleteer and publisher. He is known especially as the author (c.1832) of the Grand National Holiday; or, Congress of the Productive Classes, which introduced...

Bent, William

(Encyclopedia)Bent, William, 1809–69, American frontiersman, b. St. Louis. One of the younger brothers of Charles Bent, he was for many years the manager of Bent's Fort, while Charles Bent lived mainly in Taos. W...

Bentinck, William

(Encyclopedia)Bentinck, William: see Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of. ...

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...

Blake, William

(Encyclopedia)Blake, William, 1757–1827, English poet and artist, b. London. Although he exerted a great influence on English romanticism, Blake defies characterization by school, movement, or even period. At the...

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...