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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...

Waller, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Waller, Sir William, 1597–1668, English parliamentary general. He fought (1620–22) in the Thirty Years War and was knighted in 1622. A zealous Puritan, he sat in the Long Parliament (see English c...

Burnes, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Burnes, Sir Alexander, 1805–41, British traveler in India. As an army officer in India, he studied Asian languages. In 1832 he left Lahore in Afghan dress and traveled by way of Peshawar and Kabul a...

Burnet, Sir Macfarlane

(Encyclopedia)Burnet, Sir Macfarlane, 1899–1985, Australian virologist and physician. He was resident pathologist (1923–24) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a Beit fellow (1926–27) at the Lister Institute,...

Bustamante, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Bustamante, Sir Alexander bŭsˌtəmănˈtē [key], 1884–1977, prime minister of Jamaica (1962–67). Born William Alexander Clarke, the son of an Irish father and a Jamaican mother, he was adopted...

Bond, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Bond, Sir Robert, 1857–1927, Newfoundland political leader. He was educated in England and later entered Newfoundland politics. In 1890, he negotiated a reciprocity agreement between Newfoundland an...

Boult, Sir Adrian

(Encyclopedia)Boult, Sir Adrian bōlt [key], 1889–1983, English conductor. Boult studied conducting in Leipzig with Arthur Nikisch (1912–13). In 1930 he became conductor of the newly formed BBC Symphony Orchest...

Bowell, Sir Mackenzie

(Encyclopedia)Bowell, Sir Mackenzie bōˈəl [key], 1823–1917, Canadian prime minister, b. England. A leader of the Protestant and English interests in Canada, he served as a Conservative in the Canadian House of...

Bowring, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Bowring, Sir John bouˈrĭng [key], 1792–1872, British diplomat, linguist, and writer. An extraordinarily versatile linguist, he is remembered for his anthologies and translations of poetry from man...

Branson, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Branson, Sir Richard (Richard Charles Nicholas Branson), 1950–, British business mogul and adventurer. He left school at 16 to start his first business, the magazine Student. In 1970 he began a mail...