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Abbott, Edwin Abbott

(Encyclopedia)Abbott, Edwin Abbott, 1838–1926, English clergyman and author, b. London. He wrote several theological works and a biography (1885) of Francis Bacon, but he is best known for his standard Shakespear...

Fry, Elizabeth (Gurney)

(Encyclopedia)Fry, Elizabeth (Gurney), 1780–1845, English prison reformer and philanthropist. Deeply religious, she was recognized as a minister by the Society of Friends (Quakers). From 1813 she worked untiringl...

Skeat, Walter William

(Encyclopedia)Skeat, Walter William, 1835–1912, English scholar and philologist. Skeat took holy orders in 1860, but illness cut short his church career. At Cambridge he served as a lecturer in mathematics (1864�...

Sheraton, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Sheraton, Thomas, 1751–1806, English designer of furniture and author. He may have been apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, and as an earnest Baptist he wrote religious books and preached. Records show t...

Dawes, William

(Encyclopedia)Dawes, William, 1745–99, figure in the American Revolution, b. Boston, Mass. On the night of Apr. 18, 1775, Dawes rode from Boston, via Brighton Bridge, to Lexington, warning the countryside of the ...

Kirke, Sir David

(Encyclopedia)Kirke, Sir David kûrk [key], 1597–1655?, English merchant adventurer, b. France. In 1627 he and his brothers Lewis and Thomas sailed on a fleet outfitted by their father, Gervase Kirke, and Sir Wil...

Oglethorpe, James Edward

(Encyclopedia)Oglethorpe, James Edward ōˈgəlthôrp [key], 1696–1785, English general and philanthropist, founder of the American colony of Georgia. He had some military experience before being elected (1722) t...

Darley, George

(Encyclopedia)Darley, George, 1795–1846, English author and mathematician, b. Ireland. Included among his works are the pastoral drama Sylvia (1827), the poem Nepenthe (1835), a precursor of 20th-century symbolis...

Egan, Pierce

(Encyclopedia)Egan, Pierce, 1772–1849, English sports writer. He was the author of Life in London, a lively account of the sporting gallants of the Regency. With its rough humor and colloquial style, it was popul...

Sprat, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Sprat, Thomas, 1635–1713, English author, bishop of Rochester and dean of Westminster. His poem on the death of Oliver Cromwell was published in Dryden's Miscellany (1659). Sprat is best remembered ...