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) Hay, John: see Tweeddale, John Hay, 2d earl and 1st marquess of. ...

(Encyclopedia) Sargent, John Singer, 1856–1925, American painter, b. Florence, Italy, of American parents, educated in Italy, France, and Germany. In 1874 he went to Paris, where he studied under Carolus-Duran. He...

(Encyclopedia) Crerar, John krēˈrər [key], 1827–89, American capitalist and philanthropist, b. New York City. Crerar was a manufacturer in Chicago, and gave liberally to many causes. He is remembered chiefly fo...

(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) Locke, John lŏk [key], 1632–1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and ...

(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...