Sir Richard Blackmore

Sir Richard Blackmore, an English physician, poet, and miscellaneous writer, born at Corsham, Wiltshire, about 1650, died Oct. 8, 1729. After spending several years at Oxford and on the continent he settled in London, and became physician to William III. He wrote several medical and religious treatises, "The Accomplished Preacher," a new version of the Psalms, two volumes of essays, and a volume of miscellaneous poems; but he is best known by his heroic poems, "Prince Arthur,1' "King Arthur," "King Alfred," "Eliza," and "The Redeemer," and by his "Creation," a philosophical poem. These poems were mercilessly attacked by the wits, and especially by Pope in the "Dunciad;" in reply he wrote the "Satire upon Wit." His name has come to be a synonyme for dulness; but his "Creation" has been praised by Addison, Johnson, and other high authorities.

Sir Richard Colt Hoare

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, an English topographer and antiquary, born at Stourhead, Dec. 9, 1758, died May 19, 1838. He inherited great wealth, and devoted himself to art and literature. He made two extensive tours on the continent, returning from the second in 1791, during which he had made numerous valuable drawings, and published accounts of his travels in Elba (4to, 1814) and Italy (4to, and 2 vols. 8vo, 1819). He then travelled in Wales and Ireland, of which he also published descriptions. But his greatest work was a history of Wiltshire, ancient and modern, published in parts and forming 8 vols. folio with plates and maps (London, 1810-'19 and 1822-'52), which however he did not finish. All his works were richly illustrated, and he printed many in small numbers for private circulation.

Sir Robert Carr

Sir Robert Carr, British commissioner in New England, died at Bristol, June 1, 1667. He was appointed to that office by Charles II. in 1664, in conjunction with Nicolls, Cart-wright, and Maverick. In 1664 Nicolls and Carr captured New Amsterdam from the Dutch, and called it New York, in honor of the king's brother, the duke of York, afterward James II. Carr forced the Swedes and Dutch on the Delaware into a capitulation. He returned to Boston in 1665, and in conjunction with his coadjutors assumed the government.

Sir Samuel Brown

Sir Samuel Brown, an English engineer, born in London in 1776, died March 15, 1852. He entered the navy at the age of 18, was made conlmander in 1811, and retired as captain in 1812. He brought into use both chain cables and iron suspension bridges, making the chains of long bars of flat or round iron pinned together by short links and bolt pins.

Sir Samuel Morton Peto

Sir Samuel Morton Peto, an English railway contractor, born at Woking, near London, Aug. 4, 1809. He became a master builder in 1830, and among the important edifices erected by his firm were the houses of parliament, which were continued by his partner Mr. Gris-sell after his withdrawal in 1845. Mr. Peto engaged very largely in railway construction, having been the contractor for many of the most important lines in England, Canada, and other countries. In 1855 he was made a baronet for having at his own expense built a railway from Balaklava to Sebastapol during the Crimean war. He represented Norwich in parliament from 1847 to 1855, Fins-bury from 1859 to 1865, and Bristol till April, 1868, when he retired on account of the failure of his firm (Peto, Betts, and Crampton) with liabilities exceeding £7,000,000. He has published " Taxation, its Levy and Expenditure " (London, 1863), and "Resources and Prospects of America" (1866).