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Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 2d earl of, 1641–1702, English statesman. He succeeded to the earldom in 1643. During the reign of Charles II he served on various diplomatic missions and in 1679 was mad...

Grand Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Grand Alliance, War of the, 1688–97, war between France and a coalition of European powers, known as the League of Augsburg (and, after 1689, as the Grand Alliance). Louis XIV of France took advanta...

Burroughs, William Seward

(Encyclopedia)Burroughs, William Seward, 1914–97, American novelist, b. St. Louis, grad. Harvard, 1936, moved to New York City, 1943. He was an elder member of the beat generation. Junkie (1953), originally publi...

Bent's Fort

(Encyclopedia)Bent's Fort, trading post of the American West, on the Arkansas River in present-day SE Colorado, E of Rocky Ford and La Junta and several miles above the mouth of the Purgatoire. The trading company ...

Herschel

(Encyclopedia)Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

Jasper, William

(Encyclopedia)Jasper, William, c.1750–79, American Revolutionary soldier, b. South Carolina (possibly near Georgetown). He joined William Moultrie's regiment early in the Revolution (1775), was made sergeant, and...

Coke, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Coke, Thomas William ko͝ok [key], 1752–1842, English agricultural reformer. Created earl of Leicester of Holkham in 1837, he was known as Coke of Holkham. He improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and h...

Wotton, William

(Encyclopedia)Wotton, William, 1666–1727, English scholar. He is best known for his Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1694), a defense of contemporary learning written in response to an essay by Sir W...

Savery, William

(Encyclopedia)Savery, William sāˈvərē [key], 1721–87, American cabinetmaker. He is believed to have lived in Philadelphia from c.1740. Savery is noted for his artistic and original interpretation of 18th-cent...

Ledyard, William

(Encyclopedia)Ledyard, William lĕdˈyərd [key], 1738–81, American Revolutionary officer, b. Groton, Conn. In 1781, as commander of Fort Griswold (near Groton), he refused to surrender, despite threats of massac...
 

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