STAIR encyclopedia topics

Stair, John Dalrymple, 2d earl of, 1673-1747, Scottish general and diplomat; son of the 1st earl of Stair. He began a military career in the Netherlands, but on his father's death returned home and was elected (1707) one of 16 Scottish representative peers in the newly united Parliament of Great Britain. Becoming an assistant to the 1st duke of Marlborough in Flanders, he was sent (1709) as envoy to Augustus II of Poland. For his military achievements he was made (1710) general, but he fell from royal favor along with his friend Marlborough. At the accession of George I, Stair was sent as envoy to Paris, where from 1715 to 1720 his network of spies effectively thwarted the intrigues of the Jacobites. He was vice admiral of Scotland (1720-33) but lost the office because of his opposition to Robert Walpole's Excise Bill (1733). After Walpole fell from office in 1742, the earl was created field marshal and commanded the so-called pragmatic army in Flanders and Germany.

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Stair, John Dalrymple, 1st earl of

Stair, John Dalrymple, 1st earl of, 1648-1707, Scottish statesman; son of Viscount Stair. He served under James II, but sponsored the accession (1688) of William III in the Scottish Parliament and became (1691) that monarch's joint secretary of state for Scotland. His political skill and eloquence enabled him to dominate the Scottish Parliament. For his authorization of the massacre at Glencoe (1692) he was forced to resign (1695). He reentered Parliament in 1700 and became a privy councilor (1702) and earl of Stair (1703). He actively promoted the union of Scotland and England.

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Stair, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount

Stair, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount, 1619-95, Scottish jurist. A student and then a regent of the Univ. of Glasgow, he was admitted to the bar in 1648. He supported the exiled Charles II and refused to swear allegiance to the Commonwealth, but he was nevertheless appointed (1657) a judge. After the Restoration he was prominent until his sympathy with the Covenanters at the time of the Scottish Test Act caused him to lose (1681) his appointment as judge. He then finished his Institutions of the Law of Scotland (1681), a great treatise on Scottish law. His exile in the Netherlands ended when he came (1688) to Great Britain with King William III, who made him lord advocate and raised him to the peerage.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

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stairway

or staircase

Series or flight of steps that provides a means of moving from one level to another. The earliest stairways seem to have been built with walls on both sides, as in Egyptian pylons dating from the 2nd millennium BC. The Romans were noted for their monumental stairs. The modern use of steel and reinforced concrete has made possible the curves and sweeps of contemporary design. Staircases have traditionally been built of wood, marble or stone, and iron or steel. A step's horizontal surface is called its tread, the vertical front its riser. Traditional wooden staircases are constructed with stringers, beams inclined to the angle of the staircase. Stringers are supported by newel posts, which also support the handrail, forming a balustrade.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.