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Stuyvesant, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Stuyvesant, Peter stīˈvəsənt [key], c.1610–1672, Dutch director-general of New Netherland. He served as governor of Curaçao and lost a leg in an expedition against St. Martin before succeeding ...

Vaughan, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Vaughan, Henry vôn [key], 1622–95, one of the English metaphysical poets. Born in Breconshire, Wales, he signed himself Silurist, after the ancient inhabitants of that region. After leaving Oxford,...

West, Nathanael

(Encyclopedia)West, Nathanael, 1903–40, American novelist, whose real name was Nathan Weinstein, b. New York City, grad. Brown Univ., 1924. An innovative, highly original author, West revealed the sterility and g...

Baffin Island

(Encyclopedia)Baffin Island, 183,810 sq mi (476,068 sq km), c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long and from 130 to 450 mi (210–720 km) wide, in the Arctic Ocean, Nunavut Territory, Canada. It is the fifth largest island in t...

Piltdown man

(Encyclopedia)Piltdown man, name given to human remains found during excavations (1908–15) at Piltdown, Sussex, England, by Charles Dawson. The find led to much speculation and argument. Since they were found wit...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

Sickingen, Franz von

(Encyclopedia)Sickingen, Franz von fränts fən zĭˈkĭngən [key], 1481–1523, German knight. Placed under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire because of his profitable forays along the Rhine, he served King Franci...

Bolívar, Simón

(Encyclopedia)Bolívar, Simón sēmōnˈ bōlēˈvär [key], 1783–1830, South American revolutionary who led independence wars in the present nations of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. ...

Coverdale, Miles

(Encyclopedia)Coverdale, Miles, 1488–1569, b. Yorkshire. English translator of the Bible, educated at Cambridge. Coverdale was ordained (1514) and entered the house of Augustinian friars at Cambridge. After devel...

Clare, John

(Encyclopedia)Clare, John, 1793–1864, English poet. A romantic poet who wrote shortly after the vogue for such verse, he had a profound and singular gift for capturing nature in exquisitely specific detail. The s...