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Siemens, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Siemens, Sir William, 1823–83, English electrical engineer, b. Germany; brother of Ernst Werner von Siemens. Originally his name was Carl Wilhelm Siemens. After visiting England to introduce an elec...

Sifton, Sir Clifford

(Encyclopedia)Sifton, Sir Clifford, 1861–1929, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A lawyer in Manitoba, he sat (1888–96) in the provincial legislature and then served (1896–1911) in the Canadian House of ...

Barton, Sir Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Barton, Sir Edmund, 1849–1920, Australian jurist and statesman. He was a leader in the movement for Australian federation, and became the first prime minister of the Commonwealth of Australia in 190...

Shovell, Sir Clowdisley

(Encyclopedia)Shovell, Sir Clowdisley, or Sir Cloudesley Shovel kloudzˈlē shŭvˈəl [key], 1650–1707, English admiral. In the War of the Grand Alliance he burned enemy ships at the battle of La Hogue in 1692 a...

Pears, Sir Peter

(Encyclopedia)Pears, Sir Peter, 1910–86, English tenor. Pears studied at the Royal College of Music and became a member of the Sadler's Wells Opera and the English Opera Group. In 1948 he made his Covent Garden d...

Peel, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Peel, Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British statesman. The son of a rich cotton manufacturer, whose baronetcy he inherited in 1830, Peel entered Parliament as a Tory in 1809. He served (1812–18) as chief...

Penrose, Sir Roger

(Encyclopedia)Penrose, Sir Roger, 1931–, British mathematical physicist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1958. He taught and conducted research at a number of British and American colleges and universities before becoming a pro...

Pepperrell, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Pepperrell, Sir William, 1696–1759, American colonial military commander, b. Kittery Point, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). A wealthy merchant, landowner, and businessman, he became a colonel in...

Back, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Back, Sir George, 1796–1878, British explorer in N Canada. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions in 1818, 1819–22, and 1824–27. On an expedition (1833–35) to search for the mi...

Percy, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Percy, Sir Henry, 1366–1403, English nobleman, called Hotspur or Henry Hotspur; son of Henry Percy, 1st earl of Northumberland. In 1388 he participated in the famous battle of Otterburn, or Chevy Ch...