(Encyclopedia) Congreve, William, 1670–1729, English dramatist, b. near Leeds, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and studied law in the Middle Temple. After publishing a novel of intrigue,…
(Encyclopedia) Dampier, WilliamDampier, Williamdămˈpēr [key], 1651–1715, English explorer, buccaneer, hydrographer, and naturalist. He fought (1673) in the Dutch War, managed a plantation in Jamaica…
(Encyclopedia) Courtenay, WilliamCourtenay, Williamkôrtˈnē [key], c.1342–1396, English prelate, archbishop of Canterbury (1381–96). He was important for his condemnation of the doctrines of Wyclif…
(Encyclopedia) Cowper, WilliamCowper, Williamk&oomacr;ˈpər, kouˈ– [key], 1731–1800, English poet. Physically and emotionally unfit for the professional life, he was admitted to the bar but never…
(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),…
(Encyclopedia) Dawes, William, 1745–99, figure in the American Revolution, b. Boston, Mass. On the night of Apr. 18, 1775, Dawes rode from Boston, via Brighton Bridge, to Lexington, warning the…
(Encyclopedia) Alexander, William, known as Lord StirlingLord Stirlingstûrˈlĭng [key], 1726–83, American Revolutionary general, b. New York City. Although the House of Lords rejected his claim to…
(Encyclopedia) Colgate, WilliamColgate, Williamkōlˈgāt [key], 1783–1857, American manufacturer and philanthropist, b. England. Arriving (1795) as a youth in the United States, Colgate learned…
(Encyclopedia) Combe, WilliamCombe, Williamk&oobreve;m, kōm [key], 1741–1823, English satirist and miscellaneous writer, b. Bristol. His writing was mainly hack work, issued anonymously to avoid…
(Encyclopedia) Claiborne, WilliamClaiborne, Williamklāˈbərn [key], c.1587–c.1677, Virginia colonist, b. Westmorland co., England. He emigrated to Virginia in 1621 as official surveyor and then served…