(Encyclopedia) Wain, John, 1925–94, English novelist and critic, b. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, grad. Oxford (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1950). Originally lumped with England's angry young men after the…
(Encyclopedia) Wallis, JohnWallis, Johnwŏlˈĭs [key], 1616–1703, English mathematician. He was Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford from 1649. He systematized the use of formulas, introduced the…
(Encyclopedia) Wanamaker, JohnWanamaker, Johnwŏnˈəmāˌkər [key], 1838–1922, American merchant, b. Philadelphia. He went into the men's clothing business in Philadelphia with Nathan Brown, his brother-…
(Encyclopedia) Warren, John, 1753–1815, American surgeon, b. Roxbury, Mass.; grad. Harvard, 1771; brother of Joseph Warren. A leading surgeon of his time in New England, he served in the Revolution…
(Encyclopedia) Updike, John, 1932–2009, American author, one of the nation's most distinguished 20th-century men of letters, b. Shillington, Pa., grad. Harvard, 1954. In his many novels and stories,…
(Encyclopedia) Bell, John, 1797–1869, American statesman, b. near Nashville, Tenn. A leading member of the Nashville bar, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1827–41), was speaker in 1834…
(Encyclopedia) Wesley, John, 1703–91, English evangelical preacher, founder of Methodism, b. Epworth, Lincolnshire.
After his conversion, Wesley became involved in evangelistic work, in the course…
(Encyclopedia) Wheelwright, John, c.1592–1679, American Puritan clergyman, founder of Exeter, N.H., b. Lincolnshire, England. He studied at Cambridge and was vicar (1623–33) of Bilsby. Suspended by…
(Encyclopedia) Wayne, John, 1907–79, American movie actor, b. Winterset, Iowa, as Marion Michael Morrison. An enduringly popular movie star from his debut in 1930, Wayne combined the toughness…
