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ce405a3bf71028a8487b9c7b6c87ce7d | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-D-Maclagan | W. D. Maclagan | W. D. Maclagan
…with the archbishop of York, W.D. Maclagan, he issued an emphatic rebuttal to Pope Leo XIII’s bull denying the validity of Anglican priestly orders. The two archbishops spoke together again in 1899 in a pronouncement that processional lights and the use of incense were illegal practices in Anglican litu... |
81d51735ab75fd08a7b18376a10bd17c | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-I-Thomas | W. I. Thomas | W. I. Thomas
W. I. Thomas, (born Aug. 13, 1863, Russell county, Va., U.S.—died Dec. 5, 1947, Berkeley, Calif.), American sociologist and social psychologist whose fields of study included cultural change and personality development and who made important contributions to methodology.
Thomas taught sociology at the Un... |
6020499c797e51ec30b37bb4d1a00515 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-O-Mitchell | W.O. Mitchell | W.O. Mitchell
W.O. Mitchell, in full William Ormond Mitchell, (born March 13, 1914, Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada—died February 25, 1998, Calgary, Alberta), writer of stories that deal humorously with the hardships of western Canadian prairie life.
Mitchell received favourable notice for his first novel, Who Has Seen ... |
32cafce47d5587cb061c0a4910a54916 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-S-Gilbert | W.S. Gilbert | W.S. Gilbert
W.S. Gilbert, in full Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, (born November 18, 1836, London, England—died May 29, 1911, Harrow Weald, Middlesex, England), English playwright and humorist best known for his collaboration with Arthur Sullivan in comic operas.
Gilbert began to write in an age of rhymed couplets, pun... |
295b795a62fadc7aa5d8fde6c073fcb0 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-W-Jacobs | W.W. Jacobs | W.W. Jacobs
W.W. Jacobs, in full William Wymark Jacobs, (born September 8, 1863, London, England—died September 1, 1943, London), English short-story writer best known for his classic horror story “The Monkey’s Paw.”
Jacobs’s early home was a house on a River Thames wharf, where his father was manager. His first volum... |
7b1e0c33883809c811797ff8b98ae5a2 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-W-Rostow | W. W. Rostow | W. W. Rostow
…was the American economic historian Walt W. Rostow. His 1960 book, The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto, elaborated a linear-stages-of-growth model that defined development as a sequence of stages through which all societies must pass. This conception of the nature and process of devel... |
5967c134280e0a9258f799e26e0bb1c6 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wade-Boggs | Wade Boggs | Wade Boggs
…signed future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, who grew up in Tampa and further spurred fan interest in the new team. However, the Devil Rays franchise did not have an auspicious beginning: it posted losing records in each of its first 10 seasons and finished last in its division in…
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49748557c6508b01842ee36c55824d1e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wael-Ghonim | Wael Ghonim | Wael Ghonim
Wael Ghonim, (born December 23, 1980, Cairo, Egypt), Egyptian democracy activist and computer engineer who was one of the organizers of a social media campaign that helped spur mass demonstrations in 2011 in Egypt, forcing Pres. Hosni Mubarak from power. (See Egypt Uprising of 2011.) After being held in s... |
4d6eaeed5610aa15ffe8e7cd151a6617 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Waldo-Salt | Waldo Salt | Waldo Salt
Waldo Salt adapted James Leo Herlihy’s novel about a pair of small-time hustlers in New York—gimpy Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) and Texas transplant Joe Buck (Jon Voight)—who unexpectedly bond in the course of living their marginal existences. Schlesinger’s gritty depiction of the urban underbelly was…
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1e37a1ddcf77d30d90b8cc744bb1a49c | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walker-Evans | Walker Evans | Walker Evans
Walker Evans, (born November 3, 1903, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—died April 10, 1975, New Haven, Connecticut), American photographer whose influence on the evolution of ambitious photography during the second half of the 20th century was perhaps greater than that of any other figure. He rejected the prevai... |
21b8629bc668d87b02ec0ca4262aea77 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wallingford-Riegger | Wallingford Riegger | Wallingford Riegger
Wallingford Riegger, (born April 29, 1885, Albany, Ga., U.S.—died April 2, 1961, New York City), prolific U.S. composer of orchestral works, modern dance and film scores, and teaching pieces and choral arrangements.
Riegger moved with his family first to Indianapolis, Ind., and then at age 15 to N... |
45d8b063701299836f0aad857201c9be | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walt-Kelly | Walt Kelly | Walt Kelly
Walt Kelly, byname of Walter Crawford Kelly, (born Aug. 25, 1913, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died Oct. 18, 1973, Los Angeles, Calif.), American creator of the comic strip “Pogo,” which was noted for its sophisticated humour, gentle whimsy, and occasional pointed political satire.
In 1935 Kelly went to Hollywo... |
9a46fc6422afbfdb75ead9eefeffff14 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Bagehot | Walter Bagehot | Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot, (born February 3, 1826, Langport, Somerset, England—died March 24, 1877, Langport), economist, political analyst, and editor of The Economist who was one of the most influential journalists of the mid-Victorian period.
His father’s family had been general merchants for several generation... |
104f0ad7a55de09db8cdccd962836d59 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Besant | Sir Walter Besant | Sir Walter Besant
Sir Walter Besant, (born August 14, 1836, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England—died June 9, 1901, London), English novelist and philanthropist, whose best work describing social evils in London’s East End helped set in motion movements to aid the poor.
From 1861 to 1867 Besant taught at the Royal College,... |
9a7e1c6c633ef9f1b98b982688efa42e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Clopton-Wingfield | Walter Clopton Wingfield | Walter Clopton Wingfield
…commemorated its introduction by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield in 1873. He published the first book of rules that year and took out a patent on his game in 1874, although historians have concluded that similar games were played earlier and that the first tennis club was established by the Eng... |
257c545385d9e7859e39770fadf85e53 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Dunn | Walter Dunn | Walter Dunn
…came in 1985, when entrepreneur Walter Dunn took to the airwaves in Fresno, California. Dunn’s Zoom Black Magic Radio was the only station in the listening area to cater to Fresno’s African American community, and it served as the model for a burgeoning movement whose practitioners eschewed the “pirate” la... |
dc0fb6f2a7d78803899ad756d4d792a1 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Gilbert | Walter Gilbert | Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert, (born March 21, 1932, Boston, Mass., U.S.), American molecular biologist who was awarded a share (with Paul Berg and Frederick Sanger) of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1980 for his development of a method for determining the sequence of nucleotide links in the chainlike molecules of n... |
f3a78f3747ee33a95a8b0739a14efb7e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Kohn | Walter Kohn | Walter Kohn
Walter Kohn, (born March 9, 1923, Vienna, Austria—died April 19, 2016, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.), Austrian-born American physicist who, with John A. Pople, received the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The award recognized their individual work on computations in quantum chemistry. Kohn’s share of the... |
47c5fde6734d374d9e2aaee5972d5c6a | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Lang | Walter Lang | Walter Lang
Walter Lang, (born August 10, 1896, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.—died February 7, 1972, Palm Springs, California), American film director best known for films such as The Little Princess (1939), The King and I (1956), and Desk Set (1957). Lang made over 50 sound pictures, most at Twentieth Century-Fox over a 2... |
d8ff571a0f731e48b70cce15e12434df | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Matthau | Walter Matthau | Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau, original name Walter Matthow, (born October 1, 1920, New York, New York, U.S.—died July 1, 2000, Santa Monica, California), American actor who was known for his rumpled face, nasal bray, and razor-sharp comic timing.
Born into a poor family of Jewish Russian immigrants, he was compel... |
86aeceaac2ba3e3a56e94d926fae9436 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Mondale | Walter Mondale | Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale, in full Walter Frederick Mondale, (born January 5, 1928, Ceylon, Minnesota, U.S.—died April 19, 2021, Minneapolis, Minnesota), 42nd vice president of the United States (1977–81) in the administration of President Jimmy Carter and Democratic candidate for president in 1984.
Mondale was th... |
735b0aaaa9c5695803f902b424fb864a | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-of-Coventry | Walter Of Coventry | Walter Of Coventry
Walter Of Coventry, (flourished 1290–1300), English monk or friar, compiler of historical materials, best known for his collection Memoriale Fratris Walteri de Coventria. He probably belonged to a religious house in York diocese.
Walter was not a historian or chronicler in his own right; he merely ... |
a637f12a39ace1d2adcbeded7239df3b | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Raleigh-English-explorer?anchor=ref30421 | Sir Walter Raleigh | Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh also spelled Ralegh, (born 1554?, Hayes Barton, near Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England—died October 29, 1618, London), English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in 1585. Accused of treason by Elizabeth’s successor, James I, he was ... |
c4b225409ab4f2f20582022d772689f6 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Scott | Sir Walter Scott | Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, in full Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, (born August 15, 1771, Edinburgh, Scotland—died September 21, 1832, Abbotsford, Roxburgh, Scotland), Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer who is often considered both the inventor and the greatest practitioner of the historical nov... |
7b4e56db64e4e31f31b3bbf65340619e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-William-Skeat-British-anthropologist | Walter William Skeat | Walter William Skeat
Walter William Skeat, (born Oct. 14, 1866, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng.—died July 24, 1953, London), British ethnographer of the Malay Peninsula whose detailed works laid the foundation for later ethnographic studies of the area.
Following a classical education at Christ’s College, Cambridge, ... |
a4a6fd6a06e112dc4c3cfa112724efbe | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-Funk | Walther Funk | Walther Funk
Walther Funk, (born August 18, 1890, Trakehnen, East Prussia, Germany [now Yasnaya Polyana, Russia]—died May 31, 1960, Düsseldorf, West Germany), German Nazi and economist who was economics minister of the Third Reich from 1938 and president of the Reichsbank from 1939.
Funk attended universities at Berli... |
cc17d33a04db1b868ab6ff9b3d0d94ba | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-Gerlach | Walther Gerlach | Walther Gerlach
Walther Gerlach, (born Aug. 1, 1889, Biebrich am Rhein, Ger.—died Aug. 10, 1979, Munich), German physicist noted especially for his work with Otto Stern on the deflections of atoms in a nonhomogeneous magnetic field.
Educated at the University of Tübingen, he became a lecturer there in 1916; after per... |
1dce979b4eaf6d9873e4969ea7a35d15 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-Penck | Walther Penck | Walther Penck
Walther Penck, (born Aug. 30, 1888, Vienna—died Sept. 29, 1923, Stuttgart, Ger.), German geomorphologist noted for his theories of landform evolution. He was the son of the geographer Albrecht Penck. His ideas of the dependence of landform evolution upon the mobility of the Earth’s crust were a direct c... |
b8cbc79d52042d78bbf567ee88d63187 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walther-von-der-Vogelweide | Walther von der Vogelweide | Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide, (born c. 1170—died c. 1230, Würzburg? [Germany]), the greatest German lyric poet of the Middle Ages, whose poetry emphasizes the virtues of a balanced life, in the social as in the personal sphere, and reflects his disapproval of those individuals, actions, and be... |
6f312aeaf8b87d6af5d54c14cb6fd3be | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wamba | Wamba | Wamba
…deposition, through deception, of King Wamba (672–680), a capable ruler who tried to reform the military organization, was a portent of future problems. As agitation continued, Wamba’s successors made scapegoats of the Jews, compelling them to accept the Christian religion and threatening them with slavery. Afte... |
32d1b17a5d18641d45381b2497293413 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-empress-of-Tang-dynasty | Wang | Wang
…to have the legitimate empress, Wang, deposed and herself appointed in her place. The struggle between the two was not simply a palace intrigue. Empress Wang, who was of noble descent, had the backing of the old northwestern aristocratic faction and of the great ministers surviving from Taizong’s court. Wuhou…
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75b9eaa6005d9b0ee0ad72f746962055 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Guowei | Wang Guowei | Wang Guowei
Wang Guowei, Wade-Giles romanization Wang Kuo-wei, original name Wang Guozhen, courtesy name (zi) Jing’an, literary name (hao) Guantang, (born December 3, 1877, Haining, Zhejiang province, China—died June 2, 1927, Beijing), Chinese scholar, historian, literary critic, and poet known for his Western approac... |
3ce9c03a0507690c2604748c7571ef6a | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Jianlin | Wang Jianlin | Wang Jianlin
Wang Jianlin, (born October 24, 1954, Mianyang, Sichuan province, China), Chinese businessman who founded (1988) and served as chairman (1989– ) of Dalian Wanda Group, a conglomerate with major interests in real estate development and entertainment.
Wang’s rise to prominence was a quintessential rags-to-r... |
d831c00deac63eaa38d0295495440e41 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Qishan | Wang Qishan | Wang Qishan
Wang Qishan, (born July 1948, Shanxi province, China), Chinese politician and government official who was an influential member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—notably, serving on its Politburo Standing Committee (2012–17) and heading the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI; 2012–17). I... |
66481b9200c275b47ec92902feeb8675 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Tao | Wang Tao | Wang Tao
Wang Tao, Wade-Giles romanization Wang T’ao, original name Wang Libing, (born Nov. 10, 1828, Luzhi, near Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China—died autumn 1897, Shanghai), one of the pioneers of modern journalism in China and early leader of the movement to reform traditional Chinese institutions along Western lin... |
0e775a7b2f6fba6c543cf61f228aa086 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Wei | Wang Wei | Wang Wei
Wang Wei, Wade-Giles romanization Wang Wei, also called Wang Youcheng, courtesy name (zi) Mojie, (born 701, Qi county, Shanxi province, China—died 761, Chang’an [now Xi’an], Shaanxi province), one of the most famous men of arts and letters during the Tang dynasty, one of the golden ages of Chinese cultural hi... |
b836f200ee32e28e79f8960462656c9e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Xiaotong | Wang Xiaotong | Wang Xiaotong
Wang Xiaotong, (flourished early 7th century), Chinese mathematician who made important advances in the solution of problems involving cubic equations.
During the reign of Li Yuan (618–626), Wang was a suanxue boshi (arithmetic officer). In 626 he took part in the revision of the Wuying calendar (618), w... |
3cca349da8276e2d1443cc448d578531 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Xizhi | Wang Xizhi | Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi, Wade-Giles romanization Wang Hsi-chih, also called Wang Youjun, (born c. 303, Linyi, Shandong province, China—died c. 361), the most celebrated of Chinese calligraphers.
It is said that even in his lifetime a few of Wang’s characters or his signature were priceless. Down through the ages, aspiri... |
22e787acfe4f8896822e655049c6e75f | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wangechi-Mutu | Wangechi Mutu | Wangechi Mutu
Wangechi Mutu, (born June 22, 1972, Nairobi, Kenya), Kenyan-born artist whose multimedia work reflected her distinctive composite aesthetic and a global point of view.
Mutu honed her passion for drawing as a child in Nairobi, where her father’s paper-import business kept her supplied with materials. In 1... |
81c9dbe9c63ebe015d02849951db70c6 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Waraqah-ibn-Nawfal | Waraqah ibn Nawfal | Waraqah ibn Nawfal
…by Khadījah and her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a learned Christian who confirms Muhammad’s prophetic status. Muhammad continues to receive revelations but for three years limits himself to speaking about them in private. When God finally commands him to take up public preaching, he initially encoun... |
bd80fb08ccbe9dfd464a759988a67267 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ward-Hunt | Ward Hunt | Ward Hunt
Ward Hunt, (born June 14, 1810, Utica, N.Y., U.S.—died March 24, 1886, Washington, D.C.), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1873–82).
Admitted to the bar in 1831, Ward quickly developed a successful practice. He was elected to the state legislature as a Jacksonian Democrat in 1838 and se... |
a9b77dc481a3cd40d779a5e55ec01e07 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ward-Stone-Ireland | Ward Stone Ireland | Ward Stone Ireland
…Stenotype machine was invented by Ward Stone Ireland, an American stenographer and court reporter. At present, the Stenograph and Stenotype machines are used in offices to some extent, but they are principally employed for conference and court reporting. Both machines have keyboards of 22 keys. Beca... |
4bab2538242536f92e4babaf7a46d46b | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Waris-Dirie | Waris Dirie | Waris Dirie
Waris Dirie, (born 1965, Galcaio, Som.), Somalian fashion model, author, and women’s rights activist known for her efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM), also called female circumcision.
Dirie was one of 12 children born into a large nomadic family living near Somalia’s border with Ethiopia.... |
c5b80b45de2d69c0d14256f1087d0178 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Warren-G-Harding | Warren G. Harding | Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding, in full Warren Gamaliel Harding, (born November 2, 1865, Corsica [now Blooming Grove], Ohio, U.S.—died August 2, 1923, San Francisco, California), 29th president of the United States (1921–23). Pledging a nostalgic “return to normalcy” following World War I, Harding won the preside... |
4ffd335c2bae531dd08f03e9234e0c15 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Warren-Spahn | Warren Spahn | Warren Spahn
Warren Spahn, in full Warren Edward Spahn, (born April 23, 1921, Buffalo, New York, U.S.—died November 24, 2003, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma), American professional baseball player whose total of 363 major-league victories established a record for left-handed pitchers. His feat of winning 20 or more games in e... |
b004e609d41f9681aab70bbed0c25a8d | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Washakie | Washakie | Washakie
Washakie, (born c. 1804, Montana—died February 20, 1900, Fort Washakie, Wyoming, U.S.), Shoshone chief who performed extraordinary acts of friendship for white settlers while exhibiting tremendous prowess as a warrior against his people’s tribal enemies.
The son of a Umatilla father and Shoshone mother, Washa... |
5b1c4e23af6ac02b635c33ce96307cc7 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Washington-Duke | Washington Duke | Washington Duke
…Carolina, when a Confederate veteran, Washington Duke, began trading in tobacco. In 1874 he and his sons, Benjamin N. Duke and James Buchanan Duke, built a factory and in 1878 formed the firm of W. Duke, Sons & Co., one of the first tobacco companies to introduce cigarette-manufacturing machines.
…was ... |
b6276781f3a5a10a99688be766bf035c | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Washington-I-Ludlow | Washington I. Ludlow | Washington I. Ludlow
In 1911 the American Washington I. Ludlow perfected a typecasting machine for the large display type that bears his name. The matrices are assembled by hand in a composing stick, which is then inserted above the opening of a mold; the matrices are also distributed by hand.
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4500e9df202e4e6752ad1939fd100a8b | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wasim-Akram | Wasim Akram | Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram, byname King of Swings, (born June 3, 1966, Lahore, Pakistan), Pakistani cricket player generally regarded as the greatest left-handed bowler of all time, arguably among the very best fast bowlers ever, and an outstanding all-rounder, who helped lead Pakistan to the World Cup championship of on... |
4aee345367ac78b2d6e286635bbc5714 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wat-Tyler | Wat Tyler | Wat Tyler
Wat Tyler, byname of Walter Tyler, (died June 15, 1381, London), leader of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the first great popular rebellion in English history; his leadership proved one of the chief factors in the success of protest against the harsh taxation of the poorer classes.
Chosen as captain by the Ke... |
9c0e764b85184156cbb0a39487796525 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Watanabe-Kazan | Watanabe Kazan | Watanabe Kazan
Watanabe Kazan, , original name Watanabe Sadayasu, (born Oct. 20, 1793, Edo [now Tokyo], Japan—died Nov. 23, 1841, Tahara), Japanese scholar and painter noted for his character-revealing portraits and his pioneering efforts in adapting Western perspective to Japanese art.
The son of a poor retainer of ... |
bbba036c0fac979deb83171a1116c54e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/WEH-Stanner | W.E.H. Stanner | W.E.H. Stanner
W.E.H. Stanner, in full William Edward Hanley Stanner, (born November 24, 1905, Sydney, Australia—died October 8, 1981, Canberra), Australian anthropologist who helped found the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (now the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) in ... |
cb1bec31614c9819837066a908d7a1e9 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wen-Zhengming | Wen Zhengming | Wen Zhengming
Wen Zhengming, Wade-Giles romanization Wen Cheng-ming, original name Wen Bi, (born 1470, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China—died 1559), Chinese painter, calligrapher, and scholarly figure who was a student of Shen Zhou; these two artists are considered the leading figures of the Wu school of scholar-artists... |
a6eb2bf2bbccc6503db38fdcaed52632 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas | Wenceslas | Wenceslas
Wenceslas, (born Feb. 26, 1361, Nürnberg—died Aug. 16, 1419, Prague), German king and, as Wenceslas IV, king of Bohemia, whose weak and tempestuous, though eventful, reign was continually plagued by wars and princely rivalries that he was unable to control, plunging his territories into a state of virtual ... |
2fa956159ff9041618625706841fedb0 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas-I-prince-of-Bohemia | Wenceslas I | Wenceslas I
Wenceslas I, also called Saint Wenceslas, Czech Svatý Václav, (born c. 907, Stochov, near Prague—died Sept. 28, 929, Stará Boleslav, Bohemia; feast day September 28), prince of Bohemia, martyr, and patron saint of the Czech Republic.
Wencelas was raised a Christian by his grandmother St. Ludmila, but his ... |
3a1623a0bdde5b3617ba53dafb87ca7d | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas-II | Wenceslas II | Wenceslas II
Wenceslas II, (born Sept. 17, 1271—died June 21, 1305), king of Bohemia from 1278 and of Poland from 1300 who ably ruled his Bohemian kingdom and spread his influence not only into Poland but also into Hungary.
Succeeding to the throne at the age of seven on the death of his father, Přemysl Otakar II, i... |
00a67426557d7495ff0af6fdf4dd2b03 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wendell-Berry | Wendell Berry | Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry, in full Wendell Erdman Berry, (born August 5, 1934, Port Royal, Kentucky, U.S.), American author whose nature poetry, novels of America’s rural past, and essays on ecological responsibility grew from his experiences as a farmer.
Berry was educated at the University of Kentucky, Lexington (... |
1f5662d58726e41d3355d1837bcaee41 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wendy-Carlos | Wendy Carlos | Wendy Carlos
…Bach (1968), arrangements made by Walter (later Wendy) Carlos on a Moog synthesizer. The record displayed technical excellence in the sounds created and made the electronic synthesis of music more intelligible to the general listening public. This is useful so long as it is realized that the materials on ... |
da35588812330c4c94aea9c797ca55e3 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenzel-Eusebius-Furst-von-Lobkowitz | Wenzel Eusebius, Fürst von Lobkowitz | Wenzel Eusebius, Fürst von Lobkowitz
Wenzel Eusebius, Fürst von Lobkowitz, (born Jan. 30, 1609—died April 22, 1677, Raudnitz, Bohemia [now in Czech Republic]), statesman who served as chief minister of the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat) under the Habsburg emperor Leopold I. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) he fou... |
198d67cc3a94d9963ec4c51fdebe45d0 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wesley-C-Mitchell | Wesley C. Mitchell | Wesley C. Mitchell
Wesley C. Mitchell, in full Wesley Clair Mitchell, (born Aug. 5, 1874, Rushville, Ill., U.S.—died Oct. 29, 1948, New York, N.Y.), American economist, the world’s foremost authority of his day on business cycles.
Mitchell was educated at the University of Chicago, where he came under the influence o... |
ecb868a6db614005472a10584c59a929 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wesley-Ruggles | Wesley Ruggles | Wesley Ruggles
Wesley Ruggles, in full Wesley Heinsch Ruggles, (born June 11, 1889, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—died January 8, 1972, Santa Monica, California), American film director who was especially adept at comedies, though his best-known movie was arguably the classic western Cimarron (1931).
Ruggles, who was ... |
57e4967ba9dfcf0e301000539f39b58d | https://www.britannica.com/biography/West-End-Girls | West End Girls | West End Girls
Their first single, “West End Girls,” recorded with American producer Bobby Orlando, became a hit in France and Belgium in 1984, but it was not until two years later that a rerecorded version of the song shot to number one in Britain, the United States, and several other…
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9ff207c38598ea0645fdba8453925488 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Westbrook-Pegler | Westbrook Pegler | Westbrook Pegler
Westbrook Pegler, in full James Westbrook Pegler, (born August 2, 1894, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.—died June 24, 1969, Tucson, Arizona), American columnist whose continual crusades, combined with an acerbic, original style, attracted nationwide attention.
Pegler was the son of a star reporter from M... |
b14a61a3bec730b136673f00b2fbcddc | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Whitelaw-Reid | Whitelaw Reid | Whitelaw Reid
Whitelaw Reid, (born Oct. 27, 1837, near Xenia, Ohio, U.S.—died Dec. 15, 1912, London), U.S. journalist, diplomat, and politician, successor to Horace Greeley in 1872 as editor in chief (until 1905) and publisher (until his death) of the New York Tribune, which, during much of that period, was perhaps ... |
813fcdf2a4ff7ebc5e19bee1e05242be | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilfred-Batten-Lewis-Trotter | Wilfred Trotter | Wilfred Trotter
Wilfred Trotter, (born November 3, 1872, Coleford, Gloucestershire, England—died November 25, 1939, Blackmoor, Hampshire), surgeon and sociologist whose writings on the behaviour of man in the mass popularized the phrase herd instinct. A surgeon at University College Hospital, London, from 1906, and pr... |
f3955230dc35f4811fef7f232c6ccc33 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilfred-Rhodes | Wilfred Rhodes | Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes, (born Oct. 29, 1877, Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Eng.—died July 8, 1973, Bournemouth, Hampshire), English cricketer who during his career (1898–1930) completed more doubles (1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a single season) than any other player. He appeared in 58 Test (inter... |
95b098450717069c6473a46833549d54 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Albert | Wilhelm Albert | Wilhelm Albert
…was developed in 1831–34 by Wilhelm Albert, a mining official of Clausthal in the Harz Mountains in Saxony. Even when first tried for hauling and hoisting in his mine, it proved so superior to hemp rope in serviceability and cost that its use soon became widespread in European mining. This…
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4f40288c4a59494e32f278e0e8619e91 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Dorpfeld | Wilhelm Dörpfeld | Wilhelm Dörpfeld
Wilhelm Dörpfeld, (born Dec. 26, 1853, Barmen, Rhenish Prussia [now Wuppertal, Ger.]—died April 25, 1940, Leukas, Greece), German archaeologist and authority on Greek architecture who excavated the Mycenaean palace at Tiryns (modern Tirins, Greece) and continued the excavation of the famed German arc... |
9764bf96d18ad23da35d6d3211407f13 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Frick | Wilhelm Frick | Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick, (born March 12, 1877, Alsenz, Ger.—died Oct. 16, 1946, Nürnberg), longtime parliamentary leader of the German National Socialist Party and Adolf Hitler’s minister of the interior, who played a major role in drafting and carrying out the Nazis’ anti-Semitic measures.
An official in the pol... |
d8aef8bd20268622d40d12eb7bfb4f49 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Furtwangler | Wilhelm Furtwängler | Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler, in full Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler, (born Jan. 25, 1886, Berlin, Ger.—died Nov. 30, 1954, near Baden-Baden, W.Ger.), German conductor, one of the great exponents of Romantic music. Known for his passionate, romantic style, he excelled as a conductor of th... |
30fb6de2fcdf6a0bfa6c207651645324 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Heinrich-Riehl | Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl | Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl
Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl, (born May 6, 1823, Biebrich, Nassau—died Nov. 16, 1897, Munich), German journalist and historian whose early emphasis on social structures in historical development were influential in the rise of sociological history.
After entering the University of Marburg to study th... |
dfc52701108434f5cb0907abb4112c67 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Heinrich-Wackenroder | Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder | Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder
Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, (born July 13, 1773, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]—died Feb. 13, 1798, Berlin), writer and critic who was the originator, with his friend Ludwig Tieck, of some of the most important ideas of German Romanticism.
Wackenroder was the son of a senior civil servant wh... |
26fd2ffdc09a91a47ab384ab97befeb4 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Herrmann | Wilhelm Herrmann | Wilhelm Herrmann
Wilhelm Herrmann, in full Johann Wilhelm Herrmann, (born December 6, 1846, Melkow, near Magdeburg, Prussia [now in Germany]—died January 3, 1922, Marburg, Germany), liberal German Protestant theologian who taught that faith should be grounded in the direct experience of the reality of the life of Chri... |
3e0dd5bfd04d45b00f491fa23073e5f2 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-His-Swiss-cardiologist | Wilhelm His | Wilhelm His
Wilhelm His, (born Dec. 29, 1863, Basel, Switz.—died Nov. 10, 1934, Wiesental), Swiss cardiologist (son of the renowned anatomist of the same name), who discovered (1893) the specialized muscle fibres (known as the bundle of His) running along the muscular partition between the left and right chambers of ... |
e138c7149d525d6e66053c3b966ce987 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Leibl | Wilhelm Leibl | Wilhelm Leibl
Wilhelm Leibl, in full Maria Hubertus Leibl, (born October 23, 1844, Cologne [Germany]—died December 4, 1900, Würzburg), painter of portraits and genre scenes who was one of the most important German Realists of the late 19th century.
Leibl entered the Munich Academy in 1864. He worked from 1866 to 1868 ... |
12edd7928a03fe6ec4193040704442af | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Olbers | Wilhelm Olbers | Wilhelm Olbers
Wilhelm Olbers, in full Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, (born Oct. 11, 1758, Arbergen, near Bremen, Ger.—died March 2, 1840, Bremen), German astronomer and physician who discovered the asteroids Pallas and Vesta, as well as five comets.
In 1779 Olbers devised a new method of calculating the orbits of... |
69ff6b035a2855672b380a98268c379b | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Ostwald | Wilhelm Ostwald | Wilhelm Ostwald
Wilhelm Ostwald, in full Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald, (born Sept. 2, 1853, Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire—died April 4, 1932, near Leipzig, Ger.), Russian-German chemist and philosopher who was instrumental in establishing physical chemistry as an acknowledged branch of chemistry. He was awarded the 1909 N... |
89eef99f3a9064b6f8abbdaade55b593 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Schmidt | Wilhelm Schmidt | Wilhelm Schmidt
Wilhelm Schmidt, (born Feb. 16, 1868, Hörde, Ger.—died Feb. 10, 1954, Fribourg, Switz.), German anthropologist and Roman Catholic priest who led the influential cultural-historical European school of ethnology. He was a member of the Society of the Divine Word missionary order.
Schmidt was early influ... |
35ed2dfc0c084a521131d10d658806fe | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Unge | Wilhelm Unge | Wilhelm Unge
…the turn of the century, Wilhelm Unge invented a device described as an “aerial torpedo.” Based upon the stickless Hale rocket, it incorporated a number of design improvements. One of these was a rocket motor nozzle that caused the gas flow to converge and then diverge. Another was the use…
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323146bd7e543e6380332733d2a5b36f | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-von-Osten | Wilhelm von Osten | Wilhelm von Osten
…and led by his trainer, Wilhelm von Osten, Hans would demonstrate almost “human” intelligence by responding to questions with a variety of hoof taps or other actions. Using this method, Hans amazed both the general public and leading psychologists of the day with his apparent ability to perform arith... |
c918848c9dbfff3333b2715f340f31a3 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Will-Crowther | Will Crowther | Will Crowther
…game of the 1970s was Will Crowther’s Colossal Cave Adventure, probably completed in 1977. Text-based games of its ilk have since been known commonly as electronic adventure games. Crowther combined his experiences exploring Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave system and playing Dungeons & Dragons-style role-playing... |
088404c54e1b46d19ccd4389263436c0 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Will-Smith | Will Smith | Will Smith
Will Smith, byname of Willard Carroll Smith, Jr., (born September 25, 1968, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American actor and musician whose charisma, clean-cut good looks, and quick wit helped him transition from rap music to a successful career in acting.
Smith was given the nickname “Prince Charming”... |
ef0c30d9dcd130ce75fff35afd2a6e41 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willem-Adolph-Visser-t-Hooft | Willem Adolph Visser 't Hooft | Willem Adolph Visser 't Hooft
Willem Adolph Visser ’t Hooft, (born Sept. 20, 1900, Haarlem, Neth.—died July 4, 1985, Geneva, Switz.), Dutch clergyman and theologian who led the World Council of Churches as its secretary-general from 1948 to 1966.
Visser ’t Hooft was educated at the Haarlem Gymnasium and prepared for t... |
1cb7c0932223775c3f8ce3d44ae3e873 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willem-Elsschot | Willem Elsschot | Willem Elsschot
Willem Elsschot, pseudonym of Alfons De Ridder, (born May 7, 1882, Antwerp, Belg.—died June 1, 1960, Antwerp), Flemish novelist and poet, the author of a small but remarkable oeuvre, whose laconic style and ironic observation of middle-class urban life mark him as one of the outstanding Flemish novelis... |
ab7a0f2eafa5dfaa43e34b5f2c90a548 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willem-Mengelberg | Willem Mengelberg | Willem Mengelberg
Willem Mengelberg, in full Josef Willem Mengelberg, (born March 28, 1871, Utrecht, Neth.—died March 21, 1951, Chur, Switz.), symphonic conductor in the Romantic tradition who, during his tenure with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (1895–1945), developed it into one of the world’s finest orchest... |
190e99032a5d574512d45e764a332205 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willem-van-de-Velde-the-Younger | Willem van de Velde, the Younger | Willem van de Velde, the Younger
…in collaboration with his son, Willem the Younger (1633–1707), who became the foremost marine painter of his time. The latter was appointed court painter by Charles II in 1677 and was commissioned to paint England’s naval battles; many of his works are housed in London’s National Marit... |
21f770bb2e6fd021ff8c1783ae4e48be | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Adolphe-Bouguereau | William-Adolphe Bouguereau | William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, (born November 30, 1825, La Rochelle, France—died August 19, 1905, La Rochelle), French painter, a dominant figure in his nation’s academic painting during the second half of the 19th century.
Bouguereau entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1846 and was awarded th... |
5f9220d2c2934d3af5490cc828e0a8f5 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Allen-White | William Allen White | William Allen White
William Allen White, (born Feb. 10, 1868, Emporia, Kan., U.S.—died Jan. 29, 1944, Emporia), American journalist known as the “Sage of Emporia,” whose mixture of tolerance, optimism, liberal Republicanism, and provincialism made him the epitome of the thoughtful small-town American. His editorial ... |
4ed4a854498e395facc435415ce40ee3 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Baumol | William Baumol | William Baumol
…market structures is American economist William Baumol’s concept of “contestable markets”: if a market is easy to enter and to exit, it is “contestable” and hence workably competitive.
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cc1ad82d2eaebfe0376b54e33aa0f8d5 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Beebe | William Beebe | William Beebe
William Beebe, in full Charles William Beebe, (born July 29, 1877, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died June 4, 1962, Simla Research Station, near Arima, Trinidad), American biologist, explorer, and writer on natural history who combined careful biological research with a rare literary skill. He was the coinventor ... |
a8153762dc09a43cbab1c4a034dcd542 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Bernbach | William Bernbach | William Bernbach
William Bernbach, (born Aug. 13, 1911, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 2, 1982, New York City), American advertising executive and copywriter, a pioneer of the subtle, low-pressure advertising that became a hallmark of the agency he helped found, Doyle Dane Bernbach, Inc. The firm quickly became one o... |
9b21f7f4c32e899414ec61fab9870421 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Beveridge | William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge | William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (born March 5, 1879, Rangpur, India—died March 16, 1963, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England), economist who helped shape Britain’s post-World War II welfare state policies and institutions through his Social Insurance and Allied Servi... |
bff6556d1ff4698ab1b7a896be41fb45 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Blair-Bell | William Blair-Bell | William Blair-Bell
In 1909 British physician William Blair-Bell noted that a posterior pituitary extract that he called infundibulin could not only facilitate parturition but also control postpartum bleeding. Other researchers subsequently described the stimulation of milk ejection by infundibulin and other extracts of... |
12fcd29c8dc1a6571dc2e62e244d9c3a | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Blake | William Blake | William Blake
William Blake, (born Nov. 28, 1757, London, Eng.—died Aug. 12, 1827, London), English engraver, artist, poet, and visionary, author of exquisite lyrics in Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) and profound and difficult “prophecies,” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793), ... |
d92e49f4e06ddbb5c4efe1f2d0984f1b | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Buckland | William Buckland | William Buckland
William Buckland, (born March 12, 1784, Axminster, Devonshire, Eng.—died Aug. 15, 1856, London), pioneer geologist and minister, known for his effort to reconcile geological discoveries with the Bible and antievolutionary theories.
He disclaimed the theory of fluvial processes and held the biblical De... |
750edb67062da59a651a9f567fbce77e | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Burges | William Burges | William Burges
William Burges, (born Dec. 2, 1827, London, Eng.—died April 20, 1881, London), one of England’s most notable Gothic Revival architects, a critic, and an arbiter of Victorian taste.
During Burges’s apprenticeship he studied medieval architecture, visiting the Continent to gain firsthand impressions. In 1... |
4729ff8d7fc173d1be1da563961a49b2 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Butler-Yeats | William Butler Yeats | William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats, (born June 13, 1865, Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland—died January 28, 1939, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France), Irish poet, dramatist, and prose writer, one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
William Butler ... |
53533937990c278d707dd790950aa2e8 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-C-Quantrill | William C. Quantrill | William C. Quantrill
William C. Quantrill, in full William Clarke Quantrill, pseudonym Charley Hart, (born July 31, 1837, Canal Dover, Ohio, U.S.—died June 6, 1865, Louisville, Ky.), captain of a guerrilla band irregularly attached to the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, notorious for the sacking of t... |
a23c3f75e5cb6de9c65f9f5c0ad4bad5 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Camden | William Camden | William Camden
William Camden, (born May 2, 1551, London, Eng.—died Nov. 9, 1623, Chislehurst, Kent), English antiquary, a pioneer of historical method, and author of Britannia, the first comprehensive topographical survey of England.
Educated at Christ’s Hospital and St. Paul’s School, Camden was admitted to Magdale... |
10f089fa20e7ca9b4b7067183c08e2ee | https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Cartwright | William Cartwright | William Cartwright
William Cartwright, (born December 1611, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Eng.—died Nov. 29, 1643, Oxford, Oxfordshire), British writer greatly admired in his day as a poet, scholar, wit, and author of plays in the comic tradition of Ben Jonson.
Educated at Westminster School and the University of Oxford, Ca... |
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