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utilitarianism

(Encyclopedia)utilitarianism yo͞oˌtĭlĭtrˈēənĭzəm, yo͞otĭˌ– [key], in ethics, the theory that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness in bringing about the most happines...

Davidson, George

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, George, 1825–1911, American geographer and astronomer, b. England. From 1845 to 1895 he was on the staff of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He charted (1850–60) the U.S. Pacific coas...

Fry, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Fry, Christopher, 1907–2005, English dramatist, b. Bristol as Christopher Fry Harris. Like his friend and mentor, T. S. Eliot, he was one of the few 20th-century dramatists to write successfully in ...

Nash, Ogden

(Encyclopedia)Nash, Ogden, 1902–71, American poet, b. Rye, N.Y., studied at Harvard. He was popular for a wide assortment of witty and immensely quotable doggerel verses, ranging from urbane satire to absurdity i...

Welsh literature

(Encyclopedia)Welsh literature, literary writings in the Welsh language. In the 20th cent. attempts at language purification, interest in Welsh mythology, and a turning away from earlier Welsh puritanism accompan...

Haynes, John

(Encyclopedia)Haynes, John, c.1594–1654, colonial governor of Massachusetts and then of Connecticut. He emigrated (1633) from England to Massachusetts and as governor (1635) banished Roger Williams, an act he lat...

Holst, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Holst, Gustav hŏlst [key], 1874–1934, English composer, studied at the Royal College of Music. Grieg, Richard Strauss, and Ralph Vaughan Williams influenced his early work, but most of his music is...

Gurney, A. R.

(Encyclopedia)Gurney, A. R. (Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr.), 1930–2017, American dramatist, b. Buffalo, N.Y., B.A. Williams College, 1952, M.F.A. Yale School of Drama, 1958. He is best known for often humorous anal...

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...

Williston

(Encyclopedia)Williston, city (1990 pop. 13,131), seat of Williams co., NW N.Dak., on the Missouri River; inc. 1904. An early riverboating town, its importance increased with the arrival of the Great Northern Railw...