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Colvin, Sir Sidney

(Encyclopedia)Colvin, Sir Sidney kōlˈvĭn [key], 1845–1927, English man of letters. Slade professor of fine arts at Cambridge and keeper of prints at the British Museum, he was a friend of Robert Louis Stevenso...

Wallace, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir William, 1272?–1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the s...

Playfair, Sir Nigel

(Encyclopedia)Playfair, Sir Nigel nīˈjəl plāˈfâr [key], 1874–1934, English actor-manager. He made his acting debut in 1902 and later appeared in major London productions of Shaw and Shakespeare. He took on ...

Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon mĕnˈzēz [key], 1894–1978, Australian statesman. A barrister, Menzies was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1934 and was attorney general (1935–39)...

Downing, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Sir George, 1623–84, English diplomat. A nephew of Gov. John Winthrop of Massachusetts, he was educated at Harvard. He returned (1646) to England, joined the parliamentarians, and was appoi...

Auchmuty, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Auchmuty, Sir Samuel ôkmyo͞oˈtē, ôkˈ–, äˈmətē [key], b. 1758 (not, as commonly stated, 1756) in New York City, d. 1822, British general. A Loyalist soldier in the American Revolution, he w...

Robertson, Sir Dennis

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, Sir Dennis, 1890–1963, British economist, grad. Trinity College, Cambridge. A professor at Cambridge (1944–57), he also handled Anglo-American financial relationships during World War I...

Frankland, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Frankland, Sir Edward, 1825–99, English chemist. He studied under Bunsen and Liebig and taught at several English institutions. In working on the synthesis and isolation of compounds he evolved the ...

Geary, John White

(Encyclopedia)Geary, John White gērˈē [key], 1819–73, American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In San Francisco from 1849 to 1852, Geary was the first U.S. postmaster, the l...

Symonds, John Addington

(Encyclopedia)Symonds, John Addington sĭmˈənz [key], 1840–93, English author. Educated at Harrow and Oxford, constant ill health exiled him for the greater part of his life to Italy and Switzerland. His many w...