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James, Thomas, English navigator and explorer

(Encyclopedia)James, Thomas, 1593?–1635?, English navigator and explorer (1631) of James Bay. Financed by Bristol merchants, he sailed in command of the Henrietta Maria in the spring of 1631 to find the Northwest...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...