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Stone, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Thomas, 1743–87, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Charles co., Md. A lawyer, he was (1775–78) a delegate to the Continental Congres...

Derby, Elias Hasket

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Elias Hasket dûrˈbē [key], 1739–99, American merchant, b. Salem, Mass. He inherited the considerable wealth and maritime business that his father, Richard Derby (1712–83), also of Salem,...

Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de shärl grävyāˈ kôNt də vĕrzhĕnˈ [key], 1717–87, French statesman. After serving as ambassador at Trier, Constantinople, and Stockholm (where in 1772 he p...

Tocqueville, Alexis de

(Encyclopedia)Tocqueville, Alexis de älĕksēs də tôkvēlˈ [key], 1805–59, French politician and writer. A nobleman, he was prominent in politics, particularly just before and just after the Revolution of 184...

Thomas, Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Isaiah, 1749–1831, American patriot and printer, from Worcester, Mass. Thomas printed outspoken Whig editorials in the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper that he helped to found. He fought at th...

Noailles, Louis Marie Antoine, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Noailles, Louis Marie Antoine, vicomte de də nōīˈyə [key], 1756–1804, French general and statesman. During the American Revolution he fought with the marquis de Lafayette at Yorktown. As a mem...

Martin, Josiah

(Encyclopedia)Martin, Josiah, 1737–86, British colonial governor, b. West Indies. An army officer, he had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was appointed governor of North Carolina in 1771. He estab...

Garden, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Garden, Alexander, c.1730–1791, Scottish-American naturalist and physician, b. Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He settled in Charleston, S.C., where he collected mineral, plant, and animal specimens and di...

Milledge, John

(Encyclopedia)Milledge, John mĭlˈĭj [key], 1757–1818, American political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. In the American Revolution he was a prominent figure in the group that seized (1775) the colonial government at...

Trumbull, Jonathan

(Encyclopedia)Trumbull, Jonathan, 1710–85, colonial governor of Connecticut, b. Lebanon, Conn. He was prominent in the colony after 1733, serving in the assembly, of which he became speaker, and in other offices....