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Riley, James Whitcomb

(Encyclopedia)Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849–1916, American poet, b. Greenfield, Ind., known as the Hoosier poet. He was at various times a traveling actor, a sign painter, and a newspaperman. Under the name “Benj...

Robert I, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Robert I or Robert the Bruce, 1274–1329, king of Scotland (1306–29). He belonged to the illustrious Bruce family and was the grandson of that Robert the Bruce who in 1290 was an unsuccessful claim...

Hoppner, John

(Encyclopedia)Hoppner, John, 1758–1810, English portrait painter. He was a protégé of George III, whose illegitimate son he was rumored to be. He imitated, without total success, the style of Sir Joshua Reynold...

Carew, George, Baron Carew of Clopton and earl of Totnes

(Encyclopedia)Carew, George, Baron Carew of Clopton and earl of Totnes kəro͞oˈ, tŏtˈnĭs [key], 1555–1629, English soldier and statesman. He began his military career in Ireland in 1574 and served (1588–92...

mythology

(Encyclopedia)mythology [Greek,=the telling of stories], the entire body of myths in a given tradition, and the study of myths. Students of anthropology, folklore, and religion study myths in different ways, distin...

Dewar flask

(Encyclopedia)Dewar flask [for Sir James Dewar], container after which the common thermos bottle is patterned. It consists of two flasks, one placed inside the other, with a vacuum between. The vacuum prevents the ...

Hitchings, George Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Hitchings, George Herbert, 1905–98, American pharmacologist, b. Hoquiam, Wash., Ph.D. Harvard, 1933. Hitchings spent most of his career at Burroughs Wellcome Laboratories (1942–75), where he and f...

Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount klăvˈərəs, dŭndēˈ [key], 1649?–1689, Scottish soldier, known as Bonnie Dundee. After service abroad under William of Orange (later William III...

Kensington and Chelsea

(Encyclopedia)Kensington and Chelsea, inner borough (1991 pop. 127,600) of Greater London, SE England. Kensington is largely residential with fashionable shopping streets and several luxurious hotels. Portobello Ro...

Newport, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Newport, Christopher, 1565?–1617, English mariner, commander of early voyages to Virginia. He commanded a privateering expedition to the West Indies (1592) that returned to England with the Spanish ...