(Encyclopedia) Pitcairn, JohnPitcairn, Johnpĭtˈkârn [key], 1722–75, British royal marine officer in the American Revolution. Major Pitcairn commanded the advance guard of the British troops at…
(Encyclopedia) Playfair, John, 1748–1819, Scottish mathematician, physicist, and geologist. He was educated at St. Andrews and Edinburgh and taught first mathematics and then physics and astronomy at…
(Encyclopedia) Powell, John, 1882–1963, American pianist and composer, b. Richmond, Va., grad. Univ. of Virginian, 1901. In Vienna he studied piano and composition and in 1908 made his debut as a…
(Encyclopedia) Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for…
(Encyclopedia) Pierce, John, 1910–2002, American electrical engineer, b. Des Moines, Iowa, grad. California Institute of Technology (Ph.D. 1936). Pierce worked at the Bell Telephone Laboratories,…
(Encyclopedia) Philips, John, 1676–1709, English poet. He was one of the few to write in blank verse in an age when the heroic couplet was the standard form. His Splendid Shilling (1701, 1705) is a…
(Encyclopedia) Ruskin, John, 1819–1900, English critic and social theorist. During the mid-19th cent. Ruskin was the virtual dictator of artistic opinion in England, but Ruskin's reputation declined…
(Encyclopedia) Banville, John, 1945–, Irish novelist. His novels, which stress language over plot and narrative, are written in a dense, elaborate, and highly original blend of poetry and prose. They…
(Encyclopedia) Newbery, John, 1713–67, English publisher and bookseller. He established juvenile literature as an important branch of the publishing business. Included among his publications is…
(Encyclopedia) Newton, John, 1725–1807, English clergyman and hymn writer, b. London. Until 1755, his life was spent chiefly at sea, where he eventually became the captain of a slave ship plying the…
