Where did the name Earl Grey come from? by David Johnson In prehistoric China tea was probably used as a relish and as a medicine. Tea was first brewed as a medicine around 2700 B.C. in the…
(Encyclopedia) Harleian LibraryHarleian Libraryhärˈlēən, härlēˈ– [key], manuscript collection of more than 7,000 volumes and more than 14,000 original legal documents, formed by Robert Harley, 1st…
(Encyclopedia) Stair, John Dalrymple, 1st earl of, 1648–1707, Scottish statesman; son of Viscount Stair. He served under James II, but sponsored the accession (1688) of William III in the Scottish…
UPWARD-FLOWING WATERSTANDING FIRMSTOMATAFIND OUT MOREIn this process, water evaporates from the surface of a leaf through microscopic pores known as STOMATA. The loss of water creates a…
(Encyclopedia) Howard, English noble family. Landowners in Norfolk from the 13th cent., the Howards obtained the duchy of Norfolk through the marriage of Sir Robert Howard to Margaret Mowbray,…
(Encyclopedia) Anderson, John Bayard, 1922–2017, U.S. politician, b. Rockford, Ill., grad. Univ. of Illinois (B.A. 1939, J.D. 1946), Harvard law school (LL.M. 1949). After serving in the army (1943–…
(Encyclopedia) bluestocking, derisive term originally applied to certain 18th-century women with pronounced literary interests. During the 1750s, Elizabeth Vesey held evening parties, at which the…
(Encyclopedia) Robertson, Sir William Robert, 1860–1933, British field marshal. He enlisted in the army in 1877 and became an officer in 1888. He was in the intelligence department in India (1892–96…
(Encyclopedia) Gloucester, Thomas of Woodstock, duke of, 1355–97, English nobleman; youngest son of Edward III. He was betrothed (1374) to Eleanor, heiress of Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and…
(Encyclopedia) Mortimer, Sir Edmund de, 1376–1409, English nobleman; youngest son of Edmund de Mortimer, 3d earl of March. In 1398 when young Edmund, the 5th earl, nephew of Sir Edmund, succeeded to…