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Whitehall, street, London, England

(Encyclopedia)Whitehall, street in Westminster borough, London, England. Because of the many British government offices on the street, Whitehall has become a synonym for the government. The name derives from Whiteh...

Lauren, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Lauren, Ralph lôrˈən, lərĕnˈ [key], 1939–, American fashion designer, b. New York City as Ralph Lipschitz. He began his career by creating neckties under the name Polo for Beau Brummel. In 196...

Rotary International

(Encyclopedia)Rotary International, organization of business and professional people, founded (1905) by Paul Percy Harris, a Chicago lawyer. Beginning with one club in Chicago, it spread to other cities, and in 191...

transformational-generative grammar

(Encyclopedia)transformational-generative grammar, linguistic theory associated with Noam Chomsky, particularly with his Syntactic Structures (1957), and with Chomsky's teacher Zellig Harris. Generative grammar att...

Godwin, William

(Encyclopedia)Godwin, William, 1756–1836, English author and political philosopher. A minister in his youth, he was, however, plagued by religious doubts and gave up preaching in 1783 for a literary career. His E...

Huntly, George Gordon, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Huntly, George Gordon, 4th earl of, 1514–62, Scottish nobleman. He was made lord high chancellor in 1546. Although a Roman Catholic, he led a revolt against Mary Queen of Scots and was killed at the...

Sadler, Sir Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Sadler or Sadleir, Sir Ralph both: sădˈlər [key], 1507–87, English diplomat. Through the influence of Thomas Cromwell, he secured (c.1536) the favor of Henry VIII, for whom he went on numerous mi...

Kerr, Jean Collins

(Encyclopedia)Kerr, Jean Collins, 1923–2003, American comic author and playwright, b. Scranton, Pa., wife of Walter Kerr. Kerr had a knack for finding wry humor in the worlds of marriage, suburbia, and show busin...

Wyatt, Sir Thomas, c.1520–54, English soldier and conspirator

(Encyclopedia)Wyatt, Sir Thomas, c.1520–54, English soldier and conspirator; son of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt. In Jan., 1554, when Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip II of Spain was announced, Wyatt joined a ...

Blair, James

(Encyclopedia)Blair, James, 1656–1743, Church of England clergyman, missionary to colonial Virginia, and founder of the College of William and Mary, b. Scotland. At the request of the bishop of London, Blair trav...