A US$100 bill, which bears a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate large sums of money
A balsamic resin from the bark of Styrax trees used in perfumes, incense, and medicine; benzoin resin
A type of tree which produces benzoin or has similar properties; specifically, Styrax benzoin, Lindera benzoin, or Ficus benjamina; a benjamin tree
A US$100 bill, which features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate money
{i} male first name; Jacob and Rachel's youngest son (Biblical); one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Biblical)
American architect particularly noted for his books, such as The American Builder's Companion (1806), which popularized late colonial and Greek Revival designs throughout New England. British-born American politician who served as Confederate secretary of war (1861-1862) and secretary of state (1862-1865). Banneker Benjamin Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin Walter Benjamin Kubelsky Bloch Marc Léopold Benjamin Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Britten of Aldeburgh Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Butler Benjamin Franklin Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Constant de Rebecque Henri Benjamin Davis Benjamin Oliver Jr. Disraeli Benjamin earl of Beaconsfield Franklin Benjamin Benjamin David Goodman Henry Benjamin Greenberg Harrison Benjamin William Benjamin Hogan Huntsman Benjamin Jonson Benjamin Latrobe Benjamin Henry Lincoln Benjamin Lundy Benjamin Norris Benjamin Franklin Rush Benjamin Shahn Benjamin Benjamin Siegel Spock Benjamin McLane Tillman Benjamin Ryan Tracy Benjamin Franklin Wade Benjamin Franklin Webster Benjamin Francis Benjamin Franklin Wedekind West Benjamin Whorf Benjamin Lee
A US$100 bill, which features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin (usually used in the plural)
The twelfth son of Jacob, the younger brother of Joseph; Rachel was his mother; he was the ancestor of the tribe of Benjamin
a scheme for opening two-bids: majors: weak; diamonds: artificial (near) game-force; clubs: artificial--an Acol two-bid with long suit(s) as yet unspecified
(Old Testament) the youngest and best-loved son of Jacob and Rachel and one of the twelve forebears of the tribes of Israel
A scheme for opening two-bids: majors: weak; Diamonds: artificial (near) game-force; Clubs: artificial, an Acol two-bid with long suit(s) as yet unspecified
{i} (1731-1806) African American astronomer and mathematician, member of the planning committee which designed the city of Washington DC, writer and publisher of an annual farmer's almanac
born Nov. 9, 1731, Ellicott's Mills, Md. died Oct. 25, 1806, Baltimore, Md., U.S. American astronomer, compiler of almanacs, and inventor. A free black who owned a farm near Baltimore, Banneker was largely self-educated in astronomy and mathematics. In 1761 he attracted attention by building a wooden clock that kept precise time. He began astronomical calculations about 1773, accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1789, and published annually from 1791 to 1802 the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris. (He sent an early copy of the almanac to Thomas Jefferson to counter a contention that blacks were intellectually inferior.) In 1790 he was appointed to the commission that surveyed the site for Washington, D.C. He also wrote essays denouncing slavery and war
a British musician, composer, and conductor (=someone who directs a group of musicians) who wrote A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1945), A War Requiem (1962) and the operas Peter Grimes (1951) and Billy Budd (1951) (1913-76)
born Nov. 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, Eng. died Dec. 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk British composer. He studied at the Royal College of Music, where he met the tenor Peter Pears (1910-86), who would become his lifelong companion. His auspicious Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), for string orchestra, won him international acclaim. In 1945 his opera Peter Grimes established him as a leading opera composer. In 1948 he cofounded the Aldeburgh Festival, which became one of the most important English music festivals and the centre of Britten's musical activities. His operas include The Rape of Lucretia (1946), The Turn of the Screw (1954), and Death in Venice (1973); they are admired for their skillful setting of English words and their orchestral interludes, as well as for their dramatic aptness and depth of psychological characterization. His large choral work War Requiem (1961) was greatly acclaimed. His best-known orchestral piece is The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946). In 1976 he became the first British composer in history to be ennobled
born Aug. 26, 1921, Boston, Mass., U.S. U.S. newspaper editor. Bradlee was a reporter for The Washington Post before joining Newsweek in Paris and then in Washington. Returning to the Post, he served as its executive editor 1968-91. During his tenure the Post published the Pentagon Papers, broke much of the story surrounding the Watergate scandal, and was recognized as one of the most important and influential newspapers in the U.S. Bradlee's books include Conversations with Kennedy (1975) and the memoir A Good Life (1995)
born May 24, 1870, New York, N.Y., U.S. died July 9, 1938, Port Chester U.S. jurist. Born into a distinguished Jewish family, he was admitted to the New York bar in 1891 and became a successful courtroom lawyer. Elected to the state Supreme Court as a reform candidate (1913), he was quickly promoted to the Court of Appeals. During his tenure many thought the quality of the appellate bench exceeded that of the U.S. Supreme Court. He influenced the trend in U.S. appellate judging toward greater involvement in public policy and consequent modernization of legal principles. He was both a creative common-law judge and a notable legal essayist. Appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1932, he usually voted with liberals Louis Brandeis and Harlan Fiske Stone. He wrote the majority opinion upholding the constitutionality of the Social Security Act (1937). In a 1937 case on double jeopardy, he held that the states were not required to implement all the provisions of the Bill of Rights, a position that became known as "selective incorporation." He served on the Supreme Court until 1938. The law school at Yeshiva University is named for him
born Oct. 25, 1767, Lausanne, Switz. died Dec. 8, 1830, Paris, France French-Swiss novelist and political writer. He had a tumultuous 12-year relationship with Germaine de Staë l, whose views influenced him to support the French Revolution and subsequently to oppose Napoleon, for which he was exiled (1803-14). He later served in the Chamber of Deputies (1819-30). Adolphe (1816) was a forerunner of the modern psychological novel. Among his other works are the long historical analysis of religious feeling De la Religion, 5 vol. (1824-31) and his revealing journals (first complete publication, 1952)
born Aug. 26, 1921, Boston, Mass., U.S. U.S. newspaper editor. Bradlee was a reporter for The Washington Post before joining Newsweek in Paris and then in Washington. Returning to the Post, he served as its executive editor 1968-91. During his tenure the Post published the Pentagon Papers, broke much of the story surrounding the Watergate scandal, and was recognized as one of the most important and influential newspapers in the U.S. Bradlee's books include Conversations with Kennedy (1975) and the memoir A Good Life (1995)
a British politician in the conservative Party who was Prime Minister of the UK in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880. He also wrote several novels, including Sybil (1804-81)
born , Nov. 5, 1818, Deerfield, N.H., U.S. died Jan. 11, 1893, Washington, D.C. U.S. army officer. A prominent attorney in Lowell, Mass., Butler served two terms in the state legislature (1853, 1859). In the American Civil War he commanded Fort Monroe, Va., where he refused to return fugitive slaves to the Confederacy, calling them "contraband of war," an interpretation later upheld by the government. He oversaw the occupation of New Orleans in 1862 but was recalled because of his harsh rule. He led the Union army in Virginia, but after several defeats he was relieved of his command in 1865. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1867-75, 1877-79), he was a Radical Republican prominent in the impeachment trial of Pres. Andrew Johnson. He switched parties in 1878 to support the Greenback movement and later served as governor of Massachusetts (1882-84)
born April 26, 1830, near Owego, N.Y., U.S. died Aug. 6, 1915, New York, N.Y. U.S. public official. He served as a county district attorney (1853-59) and, after fighting in the American Civil War, as U.S. attorney (1866-73). Appointed secretary of the navy (1889-93) by Pres. Benjamin Harrison, he continued the expansion of the navy begun by William C. Whitney, authorizing construction of new battleships and cruisers. His departmental reforms and modernization contributed to eventual U.S. naval superiority
born Oct. 27, 1800, Springfield, Mass., U.S. died March 2, 1878, Jefferson, Ohio U.S. politician. He practiced law in Ohio before serving in the U.S. Senate (1851-69), where he opposed the extension of slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In the American Civil War he joined the Radical Republicans in demanding vigorous prosecution of the war and headed a joint congressional committee to investigate the Union military effort. He cosponsored the Wade-Davis Bill, which brought him into conflict with Abraham Lincoln. Opposed to Pres. Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies, he voted for his removal from office at his Senate trial and, as Senate president pro tem, prepared to succeed Johnson. Disappointed by the trial's outcome, he was later defeated for reelection
born March 27, 1909, Kansas City, Mo., U.S. died Sept. 20, 1973, Amsterdam, Neth. U.S. tenor saxophonist. Influenced by Coleman Hawkins and Johnny Hodges, he played in several important swing bands before joining that of Duke Ellington in 1940. After 1943 he worked mostly as the leader of small ensembles. He moved to Copenhagen, Den., in 1964. His sensual, breathy tone and wide vibrato were his trademarks, and he became one of the master interpreters of jazz ballads
a US politician, writer, and scientist. Franklin was involved in writing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. He is famous for proving that lightning is a form of electricity by doing a scientific test in which he flew a kite during a storm, and he invented the lightning conductor. He also wrote Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-57) (1706-90). born Jan. 17, 1706, Boston, Mass. died April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S. American statesman, scientist, philosopher, and publisher. He was apprenticed at age 12 to his brother, a local printer. He taught himself to write effectively, and in 1723 he moved to Philadelphia, where he founded the Pennsylvania Gazette (1730-48) and wrote Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-57), whose proverbs and aphorisms emphasized prudence, industry, and honesty. He became prosperous and promoted public services in Philadelphia, including a library, a fire department, a hospital, an insurance company, and an academy that became the University of Pennsylvania. His inventions included the Franklin stove and bifocal spectacles, and his experiments in electricity led to the invention of the lightning rod. He served as a member of the colonial legislature (1736-51). He was a delegate to the Albany Congress (1754). He represented the colony in England in a dispute over land and taxes (1757-62); he returned there in 1764 as agent for several colonies. The issue of taxation gradually caused him to abandon his initial support for a unified colonial government under British rule. Believing that taxation ought to be the prerogative of the representative legislatures, he opposed the Stamp Act and helped secure its repeal. He served as a delegate to the second Continental Congress and as a member of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. In 1776 he went to France to seek aid for the American Revolution. Lionized by the French, he negotiated a treaty that provided loans and military support for the U.S. In 1781 he helped negotiate a preliminary peace treaty with Britain. As a member of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he was instrumental in achieving adoption of the Constitution of the U.S. He is regarded as one of the most extraordinary and brilliant public servants in U.S. history
born , Nov. 5, 1818, Deerfield, N.H., U.S. died Jan. 11, 1893, Washington, D.C. U.S. army officer. A prominent attorney in Lowell, Mass., Butler served two terms in the state legislature (1853, 1859). In the American Civil War he commanded Fort Monroe, Va., where he refused to return fugitive slaves to the Confederacy, calling them "contraband of war," an interpretation later upheld by the government. He oversaw the occupation of New Orleans in 1862 but was recalled because of his harsh rule. He led the Union army in Virginia, but after several defeats he was relieved of his command in 1865. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1867-75, 1877-79), he was a Radical Republican prominent in the impeachment trial of Pres. Andrew Johnson. He switched parties in 1878 to support the Greenback movement and later served as governor of Massachusetts (1882-84)
born March 5, 1870, Chicago, Ill., U.S. died Oct. 25, 1902, San Francisco, Calif. U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Norris initially worked as an overseas correspondent and in publishing. He became the first important American author to embrace naturalism. McTeague (1899) is a portrait of an acquisitive society. He adopted a more humanitarian ideal beginning with his masterpiece, The Octopus (1901), the first novel of a projected trilogy dealing with the economic and social forces involved in the wheat industry. The second part, The Pit, appeared in 1903, but the third was unwritten at his death. Despite romanticizing tendencies, his works present a vivid, authentic picture of life in California in his day
born April 26, 1830, near Owego, N.Y., U.S. died Aug. 6, 1915, New York, N.Y. U.S. public official. He served as a county district attorney (1853-59) and, after fighting in the American Civil War, as U.S. attorney (1866-73). Appointed secretary of the navy (1889-93) by Pres. Benjamin Harrison, he continued the expansion of the navy begun by William C. Whitney, authorizing construction of new battleships and cruisers. His departmental reforms and modernization contributed to eventual U.S. naval superiority
born Oct. 27, 1800, Springfield, Mass., U.S. died March 2, 1878, Jefferson, Ohio U.S. politician. He practiced law in Ohio before serving in the U.S. Senate (1851-69), where he opposed the extension of slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In the American Civil War he joined the Radical Republicans in demanding vigorous prosecution of the war and headed a joint congressional committee to investigate the Union military effort. He cosponsored the Wade-Davis Bill, which brought him into conflict with Abraham Lincoln. Opposed to Pres. Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies, he voted for his removal from office at his Senate trial and, as Senate president pro tem, prepared to succeed Johnson. Disappointed by the trial's outcome, he was later defeated for reelection
the twenty-third president of the US, from 1889 to 1893 (1833-1901). born Aug. 20, 1833, North Bend, Ohio, U.S. died March 13, 1901, Indianapolis, Ind. 23rd president of the U.S. (1889-93). The grandson of William H. Harrison, the 9th president of the U.S., he practiced law in Indianapolis from the mid-1850s. He served in the Union army in the American Civil War, rising to brigadier general. After a single term in the U.S. Senate (1881-87), he won the Republican nomination for president and defeated the incumbent, Grover Cleveland, in the electoral college, though Cleveland received more popular votes. His presidency was marked by passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act. His secretary of state, James Blaine, presided at the conference that led to the establishment of the Pan-American Union, resisted pressure to abandon U.S. interests in the Samoan Islands (1889), and negotiated a treaty with Britain in the Bering Sea Dispute (1891). Defeated for reelection by Cleveland in 1892, Harrison returned to Indianapolis to practice law. In 1898-99 he was the leading counsel for Venezuela in its boundary dispute with Britain
born May 1, 1764, Fulneck, Yorkshire, Eng. died Sept. 3, 1820, New Orleans, La., U.S. British-U.S. architect and civil engineer. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1795. His first important building was the State Penitentiary in Richmond, Va. In 1798, in Philadelphia, he designed the Bank of Pennsylvania, considered the first U.S. monument of the Greek Revival style. Pres. Thomas Jefferson appointed him surveyor of public buildings. Latrobe inherited the task of completing the U.S. Capitol, and later rebuilt it after its destruction by the British. In Baltimore he designed the country's first cathedral (1818). He was active as an engineer, especially in the design of waterworks. He is widely regarded as having established architecture as a profession in the U.S
born 1704, Holland died June 21, 1776, Sheffield, Yorkshire, Eng. British inventor of the crucible process. A clockmaker and instrument maker, Huntsman opened a plant in Sheffield 1740, where he produced steel for clock and watch springs. His new process yielded cast steel more uniform in composition and freer from impurities than any previously produced. Sheffield steelmakers used the crucible process to achieve worldwide dominance in the production of tool and other high-quality steels
born June 11?, 1572, London, Eng. died Aug. 6, 1637, London British playwright, poet, and critic. After learning stagecraft as a strolling player, he wrote plays for Philip Henslowe's theatres. In 1598 his comedy Every Man in His Humour established his reputation. He wrote several masques for the court of James I and created the "antimasque" to precede the masque proper. His classic plays Volpone (1605-06), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614) use satire to expose the follies and vices of his age, attacking greed, charlatanism, and religious hypocrisy as well as mocking the fools who fall victim to them. Regarded as the era's leading dramatist after William Shakespeare, Jonson influenced later playwrights, notably in the dramatic characterization of Restoration comedies (see Restoration literature). He was also a lyric poet whose works include two famous elegies for his son and daughter
born April 24, 1897, Winthrop, Mass., U.S. died July 26, 1941, Wethersfield, Conn. U.S. linguist. He worked professionally as a fire-prevention authority. The concept he developed (under Edward Sapir's influence) of the equation of culture and language became known as the Whorf (or Sapir-Whorf) hypothesis. He maintained that a language's structure tends to condition the ways its speakers think for example, that the way a people views time and punctuality may be influenced by the types of verb tenses in its language. Whorf was also noted for his studies of Uto-Aztecan languages, especially Hopi, and Mayan hieroglyphic writing
born Jan. 24, 1733, Hingham, Mass. died May 9, 1810, Boston American Revolutionary officer. After serving in the Massachusetts militia (1755-76), he was appointed major general in the Continental Army. As commander of forces in the South in 1780, he was forced to surrender with 7,000 troops after the British victory at Charleston, S.C. Released in a prisoner exchange, he served in the Yorktown campaign in 1781. From 1781 to 1783 he served as secretary of war, and in 1787 he commanded the militia forces that suppressed Shays' Rebellion. From 1789 to 1809 he was collector for the port of Boston
born January 4, 1789, Sussex county, N.J., U.S. died Aug. 22, 1839, Lowell, Ill. U.S. abolitionist and publisher. He worked in Virginia and Ohio, where he organized the Union Humane Society (1815), one of the first antislavery societies. In 1821 he founded a newspaper, the Genius of Universal Emancipation, which he edited in various places until 1835, when he began publishing another paper, the National Enquirer (later the Pennsylvania Freeman), in Philadelphia. He traveled in search of places for former slaves to settle, including Canada and Haiti
born May 2, 1903, New Haven, Conn., U.S. died March 15, 1998, La Jolla, Calif. U.S. pediatrician. He received his M.D. from Columbia University and later practiced pediatrics and taught psychiatry and child development. His Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946; 7th ed., 1998, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care), which urged parental flexibility and reliance on common sense and discouraged corporal punishment, influenced generations of parents. Continually revised and updated to address new social and medical issues, it has sold over 50 million copies in 39 languages. In 1967 he ceased his medical practice to devote himself to the anti-Vietnam War movement. His advocacy late in life of a vegan (see vegetarianism) diet for children aroused great controversy
born May 24, 1870, New York, N.Y., U.S. died July 9, 1938, Port Chester U.S. jurist. Born into a distinguished Jewish family, he was admitted to the New York bar in 1891 and became a successful courtroom lawyer. Elected to the state Supreme Court as a reform candidate (1913), he was quickly promoted to the Court of Appeals. During his tenure many thought the quality of the appellate bench exceeded that of the U.S. Supreme Court. He influenced the trend in U.S. appellate judging toward greater involvement in public policy and consequent modernization of legal principles. He was both a creative common-law judge and a notable legal essayist. Appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1932, he usually voted with liberals Louis Brandeis and Harlan Fiske Stone. He wrote the majority opinion upholding the constitutionality of the Social Security Act (1937). In a 1937 case on double jeopardy, he held that the states were not required to implement all the provisions of the Bill of Rights, a position that became known as "selective incorporation." He served on the Supreme Court until 1938. The law school at Yeshiva University is named for him
{i} (born 1949) Israeli politician, former prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999, acted as the Israeli embassador to the United Nations (1982-1984), former Israeli Minister of Finance
born Dec. 18, 1912, Washington, D.C., U.S. died July 4, 2002, Washington, D.C. U.S. pilot and administrator, the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from West Point and in 1941 was admitted to the Army Air Corps. He organized the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first all-black air unit, and in 1943 he organized and commanded the Tuskegee Airmen. He flew 60 combat missions. In 1948 Davis helped plan the desegregation of the Air Force, and he later commanded a fighter wing in the Korean War. After retiring as lieutenant general in 1970, he was named director of civil aviation security in the U.S. Department of Transportation (1971-75). In 1998 he was awarded his fourth general's star, attaining the highest order in the U.S. military
born Dec. 18, 1912, Washington, D.C., U.S. died July 4, 2002, Washington, D.C. U.S. pilot and administrator, the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from West Point and in 1941 was admitted to the Army Air Corps. He organized the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first all-black air unit, and in 1943 he organized and commanded the Tuskegee Airmen. He flew 60 combat missions. In 1948 Davis helped plan the desegregation of the Air Force, and he later commanded a fighter wing in the Korean War. After retiring as lieutenant general in 1970, he was named director of civil aviation security in the U.S. Department of Transportation (1971-75). In 1998 he was awarded his fourth general's star, attaining the highest order in the U.S. military
born Aug. 11, 1847, Edgefield county, S.C., U.S. died July 3, 1918, Washington, D.C. U.S. politician. He worked as a farmer and in the 1880s was a spokesman for poor rural whites. As governor (1890-94), he introduced populist reforms that expanded public education, shifted the tax burden to the wealthy, and regulated the railroads. He also supported enactment of Jim Crow laws and considered lynching an acceptable law-enforcement measure. In the U.S. Senate (1895-1918), he pressed for agrarian reform. His attacks on his opponents earned him the nickname "Pitchfork Ben
born Jan. 4, 1746, Byberry, near Philadelphia, Pa. died April 19, 1813, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S. U.S. physician and political leader. He attended the College of New Jersey at Princeton. As a doctor, he was a dogmatic theorist who proposed that all diseases are fevers caused by overstimulation of blood vessels, with a simple remedy bloodletting and purges. He advocated humane treatment for insane patients; his idea that insanity often had physical causes marked a significant advance. He wrote the first chemistry textbook and the first psychiatry treatise in the U.S. An early and active American patriot and a member of the Continental Congress, Rush drafted a resolution urging independence and signed the Declaration of Independence
born Aug. 11, 1847, Edgefield county, S.C., U.S. died July 3, 1918, Washington, D.C. U.S. politician. He worked as a farmer and in the 1880s was a spokesman for poor rural whites. As governor (1890-94), he introduced populist reforms that expanded public education, shifted the tax burden to the wealthy, and regulated the railroads. He also supported enactment of Jim Crow laws and considered lynching an acceptable law-enforcement measure. In the U.S. Senate (1895-1918), he pressed for agrarian reform. His attacks on his opponents earned him the nickname "Pitchfork Ben
born Sept. 12, 1898, Kaunas, Russia died March 14, 1969, New York, N.Y., U.S. Lithuanian-born U.S. painter and graphic artist. His family immigrated to New York City in 1906. As a youth he worked as a lithographer's apprentice; he later attended New York University and the National Academy of Design. In 1931-33 he achieved fame with a series of gouache paintings inspired by the Sacco-Vanzetti case, combining realism and abstraction in the service of sharp sociopolitical comment. In 1933 he assisted Diego Rivera with his Rockefeller Center mural and worked for the Public Works of Art Project. In 1935-38 he depicted rural poverty while working as an artist and photographer for the Farm Security Administration. After World War II he concentrated on easel painting, poster design, and book illustration
born May 2, 1903, New Haven, Conn., U.S. died March 15, 1998, La Jolla, Calif. U.S. pediatrician. He received his M.D. from Columbia University and later practiced pediatrics and taught psychiatry and child development. His Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946; 7th ed., 1998, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care), which urged parental flexibility and reliance on common sense and discouraged corporal punishment, influenced generations of parents. Continually revised and updated to address new social and medical issues, it has sold over 50 million copies in 39 languages. In 1967 he ceased his medical practice to devote himself to the anti-Vietnam War movement. His advocacy late in life of a vegan (see vegetarianism) diet for children aroused great controversy
born Oct. 10, 1738, near Springfield, Pa. died March 11, 1820, London, Eng. U.S.-British painter. After studying painting in his native Philadelphia, he established himself as a portraitist in New York City. He sailed to Italy in 1760 and visited most of its art centres before settling in London in 1763. The patronage of George III freed him of the need to paint portraits for a living, and he became known for historical, religious, and mythological subjects. His Death of General Wolfe (1771) aroused controversy for its depiction of modern dress rather than the flowing robes expected in a history painting, but it was one of his most popular works. He never returned to the U.S., but through such pupils and followers as Washington Allston, Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, and John Singleton Copley he exerted considerable influence on the development of U.S. art in the 19th century
born Dec. 21, 1804, London, Eng. died April 19, 1881, London British politician and author who was twice prime minister (1868, 1874-80). Of Italian-Jewish descent, he was baptized a Christian as a child, which enabled his future career, because until 1858, practitioners of Judaism were excluded from Parliament. He first made his mark as a writer with Vivian Grey (1826-27); later novels included Coningsby (1844) and Sybil (1845). He was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1837. In 1845 he made a series of brilliant speeches against Sir Robert Peel's decision to repeal the Corn Laws, which helped him to become leader of the Conservatives. He served three stints as chancellor of the Exchequer (1852, 1858-59, 1865-68) and played a prominent role in passing the Reform Bill of 1867. He was prime minister briefly in 1868, then returned in his second ministry (1874-80) to promote social reform. An advocate of a strong foreign policy, he secured a triumph for imperial prestige with his acquisition of Suez Canal shares and won concessions for England at the Congress of Berlin. A trusted friend of Queen Victoria, he introduced a bill conferring on her the title Empress of India. After the Conservatives were defeated in 1880, he kept the party leadership and finished his political novel Endymion (1880)
a US doctor who wrote books giving advice on how parents should take care of their children, including The Common Sense Book of Baby and Childcare (1946), which suggested that parents should allow their children more freedom than was fashionable at the time, and which had a great influence on parents in the US and UK (1903-1998)
born Nov. 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, Eng. died Dec. 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk British composer. He studied at the Royal College of Music, where he met the tenor Peter Pears (1910-86), who would become his lifelong companion. His auspicious Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), for string orchestra, won him international acclaim. In 1945 his opera Peter Grimes established him as a leading opera composer. In 1948 he cofounded the Aldeburgh Festival, which became one of the most important English music festivals and the centre of Britten's musical activities. His operas include The Rape of Lucretia (1946), The Turn of the Screw (1954), and Death in Venice (1973); they are admired for their skillful setting of English words and their orchestral interludes, as well as for their dramatic aptness and depth of psychological characterization. His large choral work War Requiem (1961) was greatly acclaimed. His best-known orchestral piece is The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946). In 1976 he became the first British composer in history to be ennobled
born Oct. 25, 1767, Lausanne, Switz. died Dec. 8, 1830, Paris, France French-Swiss novelist and political writer. He had a tumultuous 12-year relationship with Germaine de Staë l, whose views influenced him to support the French Revolution and subsequently to oppose Napoleon, for which he was exiled (1803-14). He later served in the Chamber of Deputies (1819-30). Adolphe (1816) was a forerunner of the modern psychological novel. Among his other works are the long historical analysis of religious feeling De la Religion, 5 vol. (1824-31) and his revealing journals (first complete publication, 1952)
born Aug. 6, 1811, St. Croix, Virgin Islands died May 6, 1884, Paris, France Prominent lawyer in the U.S. and Britain and member of the Confederate cabinet. He moved with his parents from St. Croix to South Carolina in his early youth. In 1832 he began building a successful law practice in New Orleans. He was the first Jew elected to the U.S. Senate (1853-61), where he was noted for his proslavery speeches. After the South seceded, Jefferson Davis appointed him attorney general (1861), secretary of war (1861-62), and secretary of state (1862-65). Late in the war he enraged many white Southerners by urging that slaves be recruited into the Confederate army and emancipated after their term of service. At the end of the war he escaped to England, where he was called to the bar (1866) and served as queen's counsel (1872)
born Aug. 6, 1811, St. Croix, Virgin Islands died May 6, 1884, Paris, France Prominent lawyer in the U.S. and Britain and member of the Confederate cabinet. He moved with his parents from St. Croix to South Carolina in his early youth. In 1832 he began building a successful law practice in New Orleans. He was the first Jew elected to the U.S. Senate (1853-61), where he was noted for his proslavery speeches. After the South seceded, Jefferson Davis appointed him attorney general (1861), secretary of war (1861-62), and secretary of state (1862-65). Late in the war he enraged many white Southerners by urging that slaves be recruited into the Confederate army and emancipated after their term of service. At the end of the war he escaped to England, where he was called to the bar (1866) and served as queen's counsel (1872)
born July 15, 1892, Berlin, Ger. died Sept. 26, 1940, near Port-Bou, Spain German literary critic. Born into a prosperous Jewish family, Benjamin studied philosophy and worked as a literary critic and translator in Berlin from 1920 until 1933, when he fled to France to avoid persecution. The Nazi takeover of France led him to flee again in 1940; he committed suicide at the Spanish border on hearing that he would be turned over to the Gestapo. Posthumous publication of his essays has won him a reputation as the leading German literary critic of the first half of the 20th century; he was also one of the first serious writers about film and photography. His independence and originality are evident in the essays collected in Illuminations (1961) and Reflections (1979). His writings on art reflect his reading of Karl Marx and his friendships with Bertolt Brecht and Theodor Adorno