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Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. It was founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books. The ...
English poet, born in Essex, best known as the author of "The Angel in the House," a poem in praise of domestic bliss, succeeded by others, superior in some respects, of which "The Unknown Eros" is by many much admired; he was a Roman Catholic by religious profession (1823-1896).
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English poet, wrote odes and sundry dramas, of which the "Muses' Looking-Glass" and "Amyntas" are the best, though not absolutely good (1605-1634).
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English prelate and antiquary, born at Bridgenorth, Shropshire, the son of a grocer; devoted himself to the collection of old ballads, and published in 1765 "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry"; he published also ballads of his own, among them "The Hermit of Warkworth," and was the author of "O Nannie, wilt thou gang wi' me?" he associated with Johnson, Burke, and other notables of the period, and was a member of Dr. Johnson's Literary Club; became bishop of Dromore in 1782, where he was held in affectionate regard; was blind for some years before he died (1729-1811).
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English prelate and scholar; remembered chiefly as the author of a learned work entitled "The Connection of the History of the Old and New Testaments"; wrote a "Life of Mahomet," popular in its day and for long after (1648-1724).
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English prelate, born at Southampton; travelled extensively, particularly in the East; wrote a description of the countries of the East and of others, among them "Tours In Scotland" and a "Tour in Ireland," all deemed of value (1704-1765).
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English prelate, born in Norfolk; held a succession of preferments in the Church, and in the end the bishopric of Chester, author of a very learned work "Exposition of the Creed," of which Bentley said, "its very dross is gold" (1612-1686).
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English prelate; distinguished himself, when he was rector of St. Paul's, by his self-denying devotion during the Plague of London; became bishop in succession of Chichester and Ely, and was the author of a number of expository works (1652-1707).
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English statesman, born in London, son of the Earl of Egmont; bred to the bar; entered Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, and held a succession of posts under different administrations, attaining the Premiership, which he held from 1800 to 1812, on the 11th of May, of which year he was shot dead by a madman of the name of Bellingham in the lobby of the House; he was devoted to the throne, and a man of upright character but narrow sympathies (1762-1812).
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English statesman, born near Bury, Lancashire, the son of a wealthy cotton-spinner, to whose large fortune and baronetcy he succeeded; graduated at Oxford in 1808, and next year entered Parliament as Tory member for Cashel; he afterwards sat for his own university, and after 1832 for Tamworth; he was appointed Under-Secretary for the Colonies in 1811. and from 1812 till 1818 was Secretary for Ireland; in 1822 he became Home Secretary, but seceded from the Government when Canning became Premier in 1827; the question at issue was Catholic Emancipation, and it was characteristic of Peel that in the Government which succeeded Canning's he had the courage, having changed his opinions, to introduce the measure which removed the disabilities; opposed to Reform he became leader of the Conservative opposition in the Parliament of 1833; called to the Premiership in 1834 he could not maintain his administration, and it was not till 1841 that the victory of protection over the free-trade agitation gave him a stable majority in the Commons; his first measure was a modification of the corn laws on protectionist principles, 1842; then followed the 7d. income-tax and general tariff revision; in 1845 the agitation for free-trade in corn was brought to a crisis by the Irish potato famine; Peel yielded, and next year carried the final repeal of the corn laws; his "conversion" split the Tory party and he retired from office, becoming a supporter of the Whig ministry in its economical and ecclesiastical policy; he was a master of finance, an easy speaker, slow to form but conscientious to act upon his convictions, a man of the highest character; his death was the result of a fall from horseback (1788-1850).
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English statesman, second son of Lord Chatham, born near Bromley, Kent, grew up a delicate child in a highly-charged political atmosphere, and studied with such diligence under the direction of his father and a tutor that he entered Cambridge at 14; called to the bar in 1780, he speedily threw himself into politics, and contested Cambridge University in the election of 1781; though defeated, he took his seat for the pocket burgh of Appleby, joined the Shelburne Tories in opposition to North's ministry, and was soon a leader in the House; he supported, but refused to join, the Rockingham Ministry of 1782, contracted his long friendship with Dundas, afterwards Viscount Melville, and became an advocate of parliamentary reform; his first office was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Shelburne; his reputation steadily rose, but on Shelburne's resignation he refused the Premiership, and went into opposition against the Portland, Fox, and North coalition; that minority being defeated (1783) on their Indian policy by the direct and unconstitutional interference of the king, he courageously formed a government with a majority of 100 against him; refusing to yield to adverse votes, he gradually won over the House and the country, and the dissolution of 1784 gave a majority of 120 in his favour, and put him in office, one of England's strongest ministers; during his long administration, broken only for one month in 20 years, he greatly raised the importance of the Commons, stamped out direct corruption in the House, and abolished many sinecures; he revised taxation, improved the collection of revenue and the issue of loans, and set the finances in a flourishing condition; he reorganized the government of India, and aimed strenuously to keep England at peace; but his abandonment of parliamentary reform and the abolition of the slave-trade suggests that he loved power rather than principles; his Poor-Law schemes and Sinking Fund were unsound; he failed to appreciate the problems presented by the growth of the factory system, or to manage Ireland with any success; on the outbreak of the French Revolution he failed to understand its significance, did not anticipate a long war, and made bad preparations and bad schemes; his vacillation in Irish policy induced the rebellion of 1798; by corrupt measures he carried the legislative union of 1801, but the king refused to allow the Catholic emancipation he promised as a condition; Viscount Melville was driven from the Admiralty on a charge of malversation, his own health broke down, and the victory of Trafalgar scarcely served to brighten his closing days; given to deep drinking, and culpably careless of his private moneys, he yet lived a pure, simple, amiable life; with an overcharged dignity, he was yet an attractive man and a warm friend; England has had few statesmen equal to him in the handling of financial and commercial problems, and few orators more fluent and persuasive than the great peace minister.
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