Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Langland, William, c.1332–c.1400, putative author of Piers Plowman. He was born probably at Ledbury near the Welsh marshes and may have gone to school at Great Malvern Priory. Although he took minor...

(Encyclopedia) Aytoun, William Edmonstoune āˈto͞on [key], 1813–65, Scottish poet. He was (1845–64) professor of belles-lettres at Edinburgh Univ. The Bon Gaultier Ballads (written with Sir Theodore Martin, 18...

(Encyclopedia) Gell, Sir William gĕl [key], 1777–1836, English archaeologist. He served as chamberlain to Caroline, consort of the prince of Wales (later George IV), and accompanied her to Italy in 1814. His orig...

(Encyclopedia) Brunswick brounˈshfīk [key], former state, central Germany, surrounded by the former Prussian provinces of Saxony, Hanover, and Westphalia. The region of Braunschweig is situated on the North German...

(Encyclopedia) Coxe, William, 1762–1831, American pomologist, b. Philadelphia. His experiments and his book, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit-Trees and the Management of Orchards and Cider (1817), had a pronounc...

(Encyclopedia) Whipple, William, 1730–85, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Kittery, Maine. Whipple, who had been a sea captain, was a merchant of Portsmout...

(Encyclopedia) Whitehead, William, 1715–85, English poet and playwright. He wrote several plays based on ancient Greek models, including Creusa, Queen of Athens (1754). Whitehead was appointed poet laureate in 175...

(Encyclopedia) Whitney, William Collins, 1841–1904, American financier and political leader, b. Conway, Mass. After attending (1863–64) Harvard law school, he moved to New York City, became successful as a corpo...

(Encyclopedia) Rives, William Cabell rēvz [key], 1793–1868, American politician and diplomat, b. Nelson co. (then part of Amherst co.), Va. A lawyer, he sat in the Virginia legislature (1817–21, 1822–23), was...

(Encyclopedia) Deming, William Edwards dĕmˈĭng [key], 1900–1993, American statistician and quality-control expert, b. Sioux City, Iowa. Deming used statistics to examine industrial production processes for flaw...