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Delderfield, R. F.

(Encyclopedia)Delderfield, R. F. (Ronald Frederick Delderfield), 1912–73, English writer, b. London. He did not start writing novels until he was 44, after having been a successful playwright and newspaperman. Hi...

Dow, Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Dow, Lorenzo dou [key], 1777–1834, American evangelist, b. Coventry, Conn. Although connected at times with the Methodist Church, he was an independent preacher for much of his life, traveling betwe...

Dudley, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Dudley, Thomas, 1576–1653, colonial governor of Massachusetts, b. England. As a young man he served as a clerk and later as steward to the earl of Lincoln. In 1630 he emigrated to America as deputy ...

Alencar, José de

(Encyclopedia)Alencar, José de älāNngkârˈ [key], 1829–77, Brazilian jurist and author. Alencar was one of the founders of modern Brazilian literature. His historical novels (O Guarani, 1857; Iracema, 1865, t...

Cruz, Ramón de la

(Encyclopedia)Cruz, Ramón de la rämōnˈ dā lä kro͞oth [key], 1731–94, Spanish dramatist. He wrote tragedies and adapted French and Italian plays, but he owes his fame to his sainetes, some 450 masterly one-...

Cook, Ebenezer

(Encyclopedia)Cook, Ebenezer, fl. 1708, American author. Virtually nothing is known about his life. He is the author of The Sot-Weed Factor (1708), a satirical poem concerning an Englishman's visit to Maryland. Sot...

Churchyard, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Churchyard, Thomas, 1520?–1604, English author. In his youth he was page to Henry Howard, earl of Surrey. He spent most of his life as a professional soldier, serving in Scotland, Flanders, and Fran...

Ajanta

(Encyclopedia)Ajanta əjŭnˈtə [key], village, Maharashtra state, W central India, in the Ajanta Hills. The famous Ajanta caves, discovered in 1819, contain remarkable examples of Buddhist art. The caves, carved ...

Fisher, Dorothy Canfield

(Encyclopedia)Fisher, Dorothy Canfield, 1879–1958, American novelist and juvenile writer, b. Lawrence, Kans., grad. Ohio State, 1899, Ph.D. Columbia, 1904. Her novels include The Bent Twig (1915), The Deepening S...

Fergusson, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Fergusson, Robert, 1750–74, Scottish poet, b. Edinburgh. He was a precursor of Robert Burns, who proclaimed his debt to Fergusson's Poems (1773). After careers in the clergy and in medicine, he work...