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Hales, John

(Encyclopedia)Hales, John, 1584–1656, English clergyman and scholar, often alluded to as the Ever-Memorable. He won distinction by his lectures on Greek at Oxford, his preaching, and his writings. From 1613 to 16...

Lockhart, John Gibson

(Encyclopedia)Lockhart, John Gibson, 1794–1854, Scottish editor, lawyer, literary critic, and biographer; son-in-law and biographer of Sir Walter Scott. A major contributor to Blackwood's Magazine, he also was ed...

André, John

(Encyclopedia)André, John ändrāˈ, ănˈdrē [key], 1751–80, British spy in the American Revolution. He was captured (1775) by Gen. Richard Montgomery in the Quebec campaign but was exchanged and became adjuta...

Gay, John

(Encyclopedia)Gay, John, 1685–1732, English playwright and poet, b. Barnstaple, Devon. Educated at the local grammar school, he was apprenticed to a silk mercer for a brief time before commencing his literary car...

Eyre, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Eyre, Sir James, 1734–99, English jurist. As a young lawyer he was counsel (1763) for John Wilkes in the suit against the government that established the illegality of general warrants (warrants for...

Royal Society

(Encyclopedia)Royal Society, oldest scientific organization in Great Britain and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded in 1660 by a group of learned men in London who met to promote scientific discussion, par...

Davis, John

(Encyclopedia)Davis or Davys, John, 1550?–1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest Passage in 1585, continuing the work of Martin Frobisher. On this voyage he discovered Cumber...

Bradstreet, John

(Encyclopedia)Bradstreet, John, c.1711–1774, British officer in the French and Indian Wars. A Nova Scotian, he was captured (1744) by the French and confined at Louisburg. After his exchange he described the weak...

Kroto, Harry

(Encyclopedia)Kroto, Harry (Sir Harold Walter Kroto), 1939–2016, British chemist, b. Harold Walter Krotoschiner, Ph.D. Univ. of Sheffield, 1964. Kroto was the son of German parents who fled Nazi rule to England. ...

Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre âr ôˌkĭnlĕkˈ, ôˌkhĭn– [key], 1884–1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in...