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Shirley, William

(Encyclopedia)Shirley, William, 1694–1771, colonial governor in British North America, b. England. He became a lawyer and in 1731 emigrated to Massachusetts. In 1741 he became governor of Massachusetts. He oppose...

Steig, William

(Encyclopedia)Steig, William, 1907–2003, American cartoonist and children's book writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He began drawing cartoons for the The New Yorker in the 1930s, and ultimately produced over 1,600 spontan...

Primrose, William

(Encyclopedia)Primrose, William, 1904–82, Scottish-American violist. After studying in London, and with Eugène Ysaÿe, he played with the London String Quartet (1930–35) and the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–...

Robertson, William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, William, 1721–93, Scottish churchman and historian. As moderator (1762–80) of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he led the moderate party and enforced the right of the sta...

Prout, William

(Encyclopedia)Prout, William, 1785–1850, English chemist and physician. Prout's hypothesis, advanced in 1815–16, suggested that atomic weights of elements are multiples of that of hydrogen and that elements are...

Proxmire, William

(Encyclopedia)Proxmire, William (Edward William Proxmire), 1915–2005, U.S. senator (1957–89), b. Lake Forest, Ill. He worked in army counterintelligence during World War II and later entered politics, serving (...

Prynne, William

(Encyclopedia)Prynne, William prĭn [key], 1600–1669, English political figure and Puritan pamphleteer. Beginning his attacks on Arminian doctrine in 1627, he soon earned the enmity of William Laud. When Prynne's...

Rimmer, William

(Encyclopedia)Rimmer, William, 1816–79, American sculptor and writer, b. Liverpool, England. He was brought up in the United States and after working as a cobbler in Brockton, Mass., at the age of 30 began the st...

Crane, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Crane, Walter, 1845–1915, English designer, illustrator, and painter. As a painter he is grouped with the later Pre-Raphaelites, but he is better known for his illustrations of the works of Spenser ...

Fish, Carl Russell

(Encyclopedia)Fish, Carl Russell, 1876–1932, American historian, b. Central Falls, R.I. From 1900 to his death he taught history at the Univ. of Wisconsin. Fish considered the Univ. of Wisconsin the “most democ...