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metaphysical poets

(Encyclopedia)metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of, 1580–1630, English courtier and patron of letters. Son of Mary Herbert, countess of Pembroke, and nephew of Sir Philip Sidney, he was tutored by the poet Samue...

Koroma, Ernest Bai

(Encyclopedia)Koroma, Ernest Bai bī kərōmäˈ [key], 1953–, Sierra Leonean political, grad. Fourah Bay College, Univ. of Sierra Leone (1976). An insurance company executive (1978–2001), he retired to enter p...

Brashear, John Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Brashear, John Alfred brəshērˈ [key], 1840–1920, American maker of scientific instruments and educator, b. Brownsville, Pa. A mechanic by trade, he taught himself the art of making lenses and mir...

Wain, John

(Encyclopedia)Wain, John, 1925–94, English novelist and critic, b. Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, grad. Oxford (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1950). Originally lumped with England's angry young men after the publication of H...

Warton, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Warton, Joseph, 1722–1800, English critic and poet, brother of Thomas Warton. Educated at Winchester and Oxford, he took holy orders in 1744 and served several cures. He spent an unsuccessful tenure...

Rush, William

(Encyclopedia)Rush, William, 1756–1833, American sculptor, one of the earliest in the country, b. Philadelphia. His wood carvings, clay models, and figureheads were famous in their day. Of his other works, carved...

Rayburn, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Rayburn, Sam (Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn), 1882–1961, U.S. legislator, b. Roane co., Tenn. After his family moved (1887) to Fannin co., Tex., he worked at cotton picking. He worked his way through sc...

Saint Croix, rivers, North America

(Encyclopedia)Saint Croix. 1 River, 75 mi (121 km) long, rising in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flowing SE to Passamaquoddy Bay, forming part of the U.S.-Canada border; navigable to Calais, Maine. The river is used...

pseudonym

(Encyclopedia)pseudonym so͞oˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (pen name). Famous examples in ...