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Randolph, Peyton

(Encyclopedia) Randolph, Peyton, c.1721–1775, American political leader, first president of the Continental Congress, b. Williamsburg, Va. After a general education at the College of William and Mary…

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…

Sackville-West, Vita

(Encyclopedia) Sackville-West, Vita (Victoria Mary Sackville-West), 1892–1962, English writer; wife of Sir Harold Nicolson and granddaughter of the 2d Baron Sackville. Both she and Nicolson were…

Rutledge, Ann

(Encyclopedia) Rutledge, Ann, 1813?–1835, American historical figure, alleged fiancée of Abraham Lincoln. Her father kept the inn at New Salem, Ill., where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. Ann's…

Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia) Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of, 1649–1709, Dutch statesman in England. He was William III's most trusted personal adviser. In 1677 he engaged in negotiating the marriage of…

purification

(Encyclopedia) purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision…

Balfour, Sir James

(Encyclopedia) Balfour, Sir James, d. 1583, Scottish judge and politician. Captured (1547) at St. Andrews after the murder of Cardinal Beaton, he served a sentence in the French galleys and on his…

Saunders, Dame Cicely

(Encyclopedia) Saunders, Dame Cicely (Cicely Mary Strode Saunders), 1918–2005, British physician, a pioneer in the modern hospice movement. She left Oxford during World War II to become a nurse (1944…

pseudonym

(Encyclopedia) pseudonympseudonyms&oomacr;ˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (…

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st duke of

(Encyclopedia) Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st duke ofArgyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st duke ofärgīlˈ [key], d. 1703, Scottish nobleman; eldest son of the 9th earl of Argyll. Having unsuccessfully…