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Warton, Thomas, 1728–90, English poet and literary historian

(Encyclopedia)Warton, Thomas, 1728–90, English poet and literary historian, grad. Trinity College, Oxford (1747), brother of Joseph Warton. He was ordained and eventually served as professor of poetry at Oxford f...

Cullen, Countee

(Encyclopedia)Cullen, Countee kounˈtēˈ [key], 1903–46, American poet, b. New York City, grad. New York Univ. 1925, M.A. Harvard, 1926. A major writer of the Harlem Renaissance—a flowering of black artistic a...

Rivas, Ángel de Saavedra, duque de

(Encyclopedia)Rivas, Ángel de Saavedra, duque de änˈhĕl ᵺā säˌävāˈᵺrä do͞oˈkā ᵺā rēˈväs [key], 1791–1865, Spanish romantic poet and dramatist. A liberal, Rivas was condemned to death and f...

Gay, John

(Encyclopedia)Gay, John, 1685–1732, English playwright and poet, b. Barnstaple, Devon. Educated at the local grammar school, he was apprenticed to a silk mercer for a brief time before commencing his literary car...

Otterburn

(Encyclopedia)Otterburn, village, Northumberland, N England. It was the scene of a victory (1388) of the Scots over the English. The engagement, in which Sir Henry Percy was taken captive, is the subject of the Eng...

D'Urfey, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)D'Urfey, Thomas dûrˈfē [key], 1653–1723, English songwriter and dramatist. His comedies for the stage were forerunners of the ballad opera. In 1699–1700 Wit and Mirth; or, Pills to Purge Melanc...

Bickerstaffe, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Bickerstaffe, Isaac, c.1735–c.1812, English dramatist, b. Ireland. Included among his comedies and ballad operas are The Maid of the Mill (produced in 1765) and The Padlock (produced in 1768). ...

Dibdin, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Dibdin, Charles, 1745–1814, English songwriter and theatrical entrepreneur. His best-known songs are from his ballad operas, such as The Bells of Aberdovey from Liberty Hall (1785) and To Bachelors'...

Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset

(Encyclopedia)Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset, 1638–1706, English poet and courtier. After the restoration, he became a member of the intimate circle of young rakes and wits at the court of Charles II, wri...

Jones, Casey

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Casey, 1864–1900, American locomotive engineer celebrated in ballad and song, probably b. Jordan, Fulton co., Ky. His real name was John Luther Jones, but at the age of 17 he went to Cayce, K...