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Tonson, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Tonson, Jacob tŏnˈsən [key], 1656?–1736, English publisher. He and his brother Richard purchased the publication rights to Milton's Paradise Lost, a transaction later claimed as the firm's most p...

Open University

(Encyclopedia)Open University, headquartered at Milton Keynes, England; founded 1969 as the Univ. of the Air. In 1971 a distance learning program was begun that now consists of correspondence courses integrated wit...

epitaph

(Encyclopedia)epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. In England epit...

pamphlet

(Encyclopedia)pamphlet, short unbound or paper-bound book of from 64 to 96 pages. The pamphlet gained popularity as an instrument of religious or political controversy, giving the author and reader full benefit of ...

Buckinghamshire

(Encyclopedia)Buckinghamshire bŭkˈĭng-əmshĭr [key], Buckingham, or Bucks, county (2020 est. pop. 817,0...

Taylor, Richard Edward

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Richard Edward, 1930–2018, Canadian experimental physicist. He was associated primarily with Stanford, where he received his doctorate (1962) and helped build and then worked—first (1962) ...

Samson

(Encyclopedia)Samson, in the Bible, judge of Israel. His long hair was a symbol of his vows to God, and because of this covenant Samson was strong. The enemies of his people, the Philistines, accomplished his destr...

Daiches, David

(Encyclopedia)Daiches, David dāˈchēz [key], 1912–2005, British critic, b. Sunderland. A graduate of Edinburgh Univ. and Oxford (M.A., 1934; Ph.D., 1939), Daiches taught at several English universities and wrot...

Shuster, George Nauman

(Encyclopedia)Shuster, George Nauman, 1894–1977, American educator, b. Lancaster, Wis., grad. Notre Dame (B.A., 1915; M.A., 1920) and Columbia (Ph.D., 1940). He was head of the department of English at Notre Dame...

Bridges, Robert Seymour

(Encyclopedia)Bridges, Robert Seymour, 1844–1930, English poet. In 1882 he abandoned medical practice to devote himself to writing. An excellent metrist, he wrote many beautiful lyrics and longer poems, noted for...