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Meares, John

(Encyclopedia)Meares, John mērz [key], 1756?–1809, British naval officer, explorer, and trader. He served in the navy, in which he attained the rank of lieutenant, until after the Peace of Paris (1783), when he ...

Smibert, John

(Encyclopedia)Smibert or Smybert, John both: smīˈbərt [key], 1688–1751, American portrait painter, b. Scotland, the first skillful painter in New England. After his apprenticeship to an Edinburgh house painter...

John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia)John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

Milton, John

(Encyclopedia)Milton, John, 1608–74, English poet, b. London, one of the greatest poets of the English language. Milton's theology, although in the Protestant tradition, is extremely unorthodox and individu...

Fowles, John

(Encyclopedia)Fowles, John, 1926–2005, English writer, b. Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, grad. Oxford, 1950. A complex, cerebral writer and a superb storyteller, Fowles was interested in manipulating the novel as a genre. ...

Lyly, John

(Encyclopedia)Lyly or Lilly, John both: lĭlˈē [key], 1554?–1606, English dramatist and prose writer. An accomplished courtier, he also served as a member of Parliament from 1589 to 1601. His Euphues, published...

Cabot, John

(Encyclopedia)Cabot, John, fl. 1461–98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is assumed, was the sti...

Jarvis, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Jarvis, John Wesley, 1781?–1839, American portrait painter, b. England. Beginning as an engraver in Philadelphia, he early moved to New York, where he became a popular portrait painter. In City Hall...

Newton, John

(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 waters between...

Baskerville, John

(Encyclopedia)Baskerville, John băsˈkərvĭlˌ [key], 1706–75, English designer of type and printer. He and Caslon were the two great type designers of the 18th cent. in England. He began his work as printer an...