Wistar, Isaac Jones, 1827-1905, American financier, b. Philadelphia; great-nephew of Caspar Wistar. His early manhood was spent adventurously in the West as a muleteer, trapper, and gold miner. In the Civil War he was a brigadier general in the Union army and was wounded four times. After the war he made his fortune by financing railroad building. He established the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia with gifts of $1 million.

Wise, Isaac Mayer, 1819-1900, American rabbi, founder of organized Reform Judaism in the United States, b. Bohemia, studied at the Univ. of Vienna. He settled in the United States in 1846. Wise was liberal in his religious and political views. He was rabbi of Orthodox congregations in Albany, N.Y., and (from 1854) Cincinnati, both of which he turned into Reform synagogues. He energetically pursued his goal by founding (1875) the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and by organizing (1873) the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (1889). He presided over these organizations until his death. He founded and edited two periodicals, the American Israelite, in English, and Deborah, in German. He wrote several novels, two plays, his reminiscences (1901), and many historical and religious works, including History of the Israelitish Nation (1854).

Watts, Isaac, 1674-1748, English clergyman and hymn writer, b. Southampton. He was one of the most eminent Dissenting divines of his day. As a pastor in London he was known for his sermons, but beginning in 1712 poor health caused him to live in semiretirement. His several hundred hymns embody a stern Calvinism assuaged with a gentleness and sympathy. The few hymns that are included in present-day hymnals are among the finest examples of English metrical hymnody. Those beginning "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," "When I survey the wondrous cross," "Joy to the world," and "O God, our help in ages past," appeared in his Psalms of David Imitated (1719).

Ware, Isaac, d. 1766, English architect of the Georgian period. After travels in Italy he was employed in 1729 as clerk of the works at Windsor Castle. For Philip, earl of Chesterfield, he built (1749) Chesterfield House, Mayfair, of which his work The Complete Body of Architecture (1756) contains illustrations. In 1737, Ware produced a translation of Palladio. Ware designed mantelpieces, ceilings, and other details for Robert Walpole's house, Houghton, built by Thomas Ripley, and did drawings for Ripley's book on this house.

Taylor, Isaac, 1829-1901, English clergyman, antiquarian, and author, chiefly noted for researches in philology. In 1885, Taylor became canon of York. His inclination toward controversy led to the writing of several theological pamphlets, among them The Liturgy and the Dissenters (1860). His study of Islam resulted in Leaves from an Egyptian Notebook (1888). Early philological investigations were incorporated in Words and Places (1864); Etruscan Researches (1874); and Greeks and Goths (1879), dealing with the origin of the runes. His most celebrated work, The Alphabet, was published in 1883. Taylor's Origin of the Aryans (1890) challenged the theory of Max Müller, then generally accepted, that central Asia was the cradle of the Indo-European peoples.

Stern, Isaac, 1920-2001, American violinist, b. Kremenets, in what is now Ukraine. Brought to the United States as an infant, Stern began piano lessons at the age of six and violin lessons at eight. He studied at the San Francisco Conservatory and made his debut at 11 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. After his New York debut in 1937 at Town Hall, Stern made extensive and brilliantly successful world tours. He was particularly noted for his warm, rich tone in a repertoire that ranged from the Baroque to the Romantic and the modern. He recorded widely and was an active and enthusiastic teacher, known for his spirited encouragement of young musicians. In 1960 he led a successful campaign to save Carnegie Hall, the great New York City performance space, which was threatened with demolition. He subsequently served as president of the hall, a position he held until his death. Stern is considered one of the 20th cent.'s leading virtuosos.

Singer, Isaac Merrit, 1811-75, American inventor, b. Rensselaer co., N.Y. As a child he lived in Oswego, N.Y. He patented in 1851 a practical sewing machine that could do continuous stitching. Although he lost a suit for infringement brought by Elias Howe, his company was already so well established that it took the lead in a subsequent combination of manufactures and pooling of patents. Between 1851 and 1865 Singer patented 20 improvements, including the yielding presser foot and a continuous wheel feed.

Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 1904-91, American novelist and short-story writer in the Yiddish language, younger brother of I. J. Singer, b. Leoncin, Poland (then in Russia). The son of a provincial Hasidic rabbi (see Hasidism), he moved to Warsaw in the early 1920s and became associated with the city's Yiddish literati. He emigrated to the United States in 1935 and worked in New York City as a journalist on the Yiddish-language Jewish Daily Forward, which also published much of his early fiction. In 1943 he became an American citizen. Singer's American career was launched a decade later when his story "Gimpel the Fool" was discovered by Irving Howe, translated by Saul Bellow, and published in the Partisan Review.

Singer's work, often frankly sexual, draws heavily on Jewish folklore, religion, and mysticism and frequently deals with shtetl life in pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe. Many of his later works treat the loneliness of old age and the sense of alienation produced in Jews by the dissolution of values through assimilation with the Gentile world. His novels include Satan in Goray (1933, tr. 1955), The Family Moskat (1945, tr. 1950), The Slave (tr. 1962), The Manor (tr. 1967), Enemies (tr. 1972), Shosha (tr. 1978), The Penitent (tr. 1983), Scum (tr. 1991), and the posthumously published Shadows on the Hudson (tr. 1997).

Singer is also highly regarded for his hundreds of vivid, imaginative, perceptive, and witty short stories. Collections include Gimpel the Fool (tr. 1961), The Spinoza of Market Street (tr. 1961), Old Love (tr. 1979), and The Death of Methuselah (tr. 1985). In 2004 his Collected Stories, in English translation, were published in three volumes. Singer also wrote books for children and several plays, notably The Mirror (tr. 1973). Though he wrote in Yiddish, he was fluent in English and closely supervised the English translations of his works. In 1978 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Yiddish-language author to be so honored.

Shelby, Isaac, 1750-1826, American frontiersman, b. Washington co. (then part of Frederick co.), Md. Around 1773 he settled in the Holston River country in what is now E Tennessee. In the American Revolution he was one of the frontier leaders who defeated the British at Kings Mt. (1780) in the Carolina campaign. Shelby moved to Kentucky in 1783, helped secure its separation from Virginia, and was the first governor (1792-96) of the new state. During his second term (1812-16) he organized and commanded a body of volunteers under Gen. William Henry Harrison at the battle of the Thames River (Oct., 1813) in S Ontario, one of the few American land victories in the War of 1812. In 1818, with Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the special commission that purchased the remaining lands of the Chickasaw in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Sears, Isaac, c.1730-86, American Revolutionary leader, b. West Brewster, Mass. A merchant sea captain, Sears won a reputation as a daring privateer during the French and Indian War. He was a leader in the resistance to the Stamp Act in New York City, helped organize (1766) the Sons of Liberty, and remained prominent in the agitation against the British during the next decade. Arrested (1775) for anti-British activities, he was rescued at the prison door by his comrades. When news of the battle of Lexington reached New York, Sears led a mob that drove prominent loyalists from the city and seized the British arsenal. After the British capture (1776) of New York, Sears went to Boston and promoted privateering for the remainder of the war. He was later elected (1784, 1786) to the New York state assembly.

Sacy, Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de, 1758-1838, French Orientalist. Sacy's works on Arabic were pioneering, and he was one of the founders of modern Arabic studies in France.

Rosenberg, Isaac, 1890-1918, English poet, b. Bristol. He studied painting at the Slade School (1911-14) and had an exhibition of his work at the Whitechapel Gallery. Although he wrote on other topics, his best poems grew out of his experience as a private during World War I. He was killed in action in France. A volume of his Collected Works was published in 1937.

Rabi, Isidor Isaac, 1898-1988, American physicist, b. Austria, grad. Cornell Univ., 1919, Ph.D. Columbia, 1927. A teacher at Columbia from 1929, he became professor of physics in 1937. He is known for his work in magnetism, molecular beams, and quantum mechanics. For his discovery and measurement of the radio-frequency spectra of atomic nuclei whose magnetic spin has been disturbed, he was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics. From 1952 to 1956 he was chairman of the general advisory committee to the Atomic Energy Commission. He was appointed (1957) chairman of the President's Science Advisory Committee and served as consultant to many national and international organizations.

Pitman, Sir Isaac, 1813-97, English inventor of phonographic shorthand. In Stenographic Soundhand (1837) he set forth a shorthand system based on phonetic rather than orthographic principles; adapted to more than a dozen languages, it became one of the most-used systems in the world. Through his own publishing house he published many manuals, journals, and books about shorthand. The Pitman system was introduced to the United States through Stephen P. Andrews and Sir Isaac's brother, Benn Pitman, 1822-1910, who emigrated to the United States in 1852 and created in Cincinnati the Phonographic Institute to teach and publish works on shorthand. He taught wood carving at the Cincinnati Art Academy, invented (1855) an electrochemical process of relief engraving, and wrote a biography of his brother (1902).

Perez, Isaac Loeb: see Peretz, Isaac Loeb.

Peretz or Perez, Isaac Loeb, 1852-1915, Jewish poet, novelist, playwright, and lawyer, b. Zamosc, Poland. A voice of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, Peretz was often accused of radicalism and once imprisoned for his socialist activities. In his first writings he described the material poverty and spiritual riches of European Jews. His early work was written in Hebrew and most of his later work in Yiddish. All of his writings are imbued with a warm understanding of Jewish life. His finest work is contained in his highly imaginative and sympathetic Hasidic sketches, such as Stories and Pictures (1900-1901, tr. 1906). Selections from his works were published (1947) in Yiddish and English.

Parker, Isaac Charles, 1838-96, American frontier judge, b. Belmont co., Ohio. Self-taught in law, Parker began practice in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1859. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1870 as a Republican. Parker was appointed (1875) judge of the western district of Arkansas, an unruly area that included in its jurisdiction the Indian Territory. He became known as a "hanging judge" because of the many death sentences he meted out. However, Parker's rigorous justice helped bring law and order to the area.

Olivier, Isaac: see Oliver, Isaac.

Oliver or Olivier, Isaac, 1556?-1617, English miniature painter. Oliver was a worthy follower of Hilliard as miniature painter to Elizabeth's court. His work, more naturalistic than Hilliard's, is to be seen in the British and the Victoria and Albert museums, London, and in the Cleveland Museum. His son and pupil, Peter Oliver, c.1594-1648?, was also an important miniaturist. He painted numerous watercolor copies of old masters, most of which are now in Windsor Castle.

Newton, Sir Isaac, 1642-1727, English mathematician and natural philosopher (physicist), who is considered by many the greatest scientist that ever lived.

Early Life and Work

Newton studied at Cambridge and was professor there from 1669 to 1701, succeeding his teacher Isaac Barrow as Lucasian professor of mathematics. His most important discoveries were made during the two-year period from 1664 to 1666, when the university was closed and he retired to his hometown of Woolsthorpe. At that time he discovered the law of universal gravitation, began to develop the calculus, and discovered that white light is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. These findings enabled him to make fundamental contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and theoretical and experimental physics.

The Principia

Newton summarized his discoveries in terrestrial and celestial mechanics in his Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica [mathematical principles of natural philosophy] (1687), one of the greatest milestones in the history of science. In it he showed how his principle of universal gravitation provided an explanation both of falling bodies on the earth and of the motions of planets, comets, and other bodies in the heavens. The first part of the Principia is devoted to dynamics and includes Newton's three famous laws of motion; the second part to fluid motion and other topics; and the third part to the system of the world, i.e., the unification of terrestrial and celestial mechanics under the principle of gravitation and the explanation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Although Newton used the calculus to discover his results, he explained them in the Principia by use of older geometric methods.

Later Work

Newton's discoveries in optics were presented in his Opticks (1704), in which he elaborated his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, or particles. His corpuscular theory dominated optics until the early 19th cent., when it was replaced by the wave theory of light. The two theories were combined in the modern quantum theory. Among his other accomplishments were his construction (1668) of a reflecting telescope and his anticipation of the calculus of variations, founded by Gottfried Leibniz and the Bernoullis. In later years Newton considered mathematics and physics a recreation and turned much of his energy toward alchemy, theology, and history, particularly problems of chronology.

Later Life

Newton was his university's representative in Parliament (1689-90, 1701-2) and was president of the Royal Society from 1703 until his death. He was made warden of the mint in 1696 and master in 1699, being knighted in 1705 in recognition of his services at the mint as much as for his scientific accomplishments. Although Newton was known as an open and generous person, at various times in his life he became involved in quarrels and controversies. The most notable was his dispute with Leibniz over which of them had first invented calculus; today they are jointly ascribed the honor.

MacVeagh, Isaac Wayne, 1833-1917, American political figure, U.S. Attorney General (1881), b. Chester co., Pa. A lawyer, he was the son-in-law of Simon Cameron, Republican boss of Pennsylvania. He became prominent in the Republican party and was (1870-71) minister to the Ottoman Empire. After 1871 he began to oppose Cameron and his political machine. In 1877 he was appointed by President Hayes to lead a commission (the MacVeagh Commission) to adjust political difficulties in Louisiana following the disputed presidential election; this resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from the state. MacVeagh was appointed to the cabinet by President Garfield but resigned after Garfield's death. Because of his support of civil service and other reforms he left the Republican party and supported (1892) Grover Cleveland for the presidency. He served (1893-97) as ambassador to Italy and was (1903) chief counsel of the United States in the Venezuela Claims question.

Luria or Loria, Isaac ben Solomon, 1534-72, Jewish kabbalist, surnamed Ashkenazi, called Ari [lion] by his followers, b. Jerusalem. In his 20s he spent seven years in seclusion, intensely studying the kabbalah. He settled (c.1570) at Safed, Palestine, where he became the teacher and leader of a large circle of students who formed an important school of mysticism. Combining messianism with reinterpreted kabbalistic doctrines from an earlier period, Luria sought to understand the nature and connection between earthly redemption and cosmic restoration. Man's deeds, linked to the secret processes of creation and thus an integral part of the cosmic drama, work toward man's redemption by aiding in the restoration of the cosmos to its original state. It is the Jewish people, through their adherence to God's halakah, who will effect this restoration and thereby bring forth the Messiah as the consummate act of earthly redemption. Luria's philosophy has come down to us through the numerous works of his chief disciple, Hayim Vital.

Loria, Isaac ben Solomon: see Luria, Isaac ben Solomon.

Kook, Abraham Isaac, 1864-1935, Jewish scholar and philosopher, b. Latvia. He settled (1904) in Palestine, where he became the chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in 1921. He attempted to show that Palestine and Zionism were an integral part of Judaism; that those secularist Jews who worked to build up the Jewish homeland were unknowingly doing God's work, which one day would become evident to them; and that nationalism was a necessary step on the way to universalism. He was the author of several books that were influential among Jewish nationalists.

Jogues, Isaac (Saint Isaac Jogues), 1607-46, French Jesuit missionary and martyr in the New World; one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. He arrived in Quebec in 1636 and immediately was sent to Christianize the Huron on Georgian Bay. In 1641 he journeyed N to Sault Ste Marie, which he named. On his return from a journey to Quebec in 1642, the party was captured by the Iroquois; several were killed, and the rest were subjected to cruel tortures. Jogues was held captive until July, 1643, when he was ransomed by the Dutch and brought to New Amsterdam; from there he embarked for France. Later he returned to Canada. In Apr., 1646, he was sent among the Mohawks as an ambassador of peace. He discovered Lake George, which he named Lac du St. Sacrement. In May, 1646, he returned to Quebec to make plans for establishing a mission among the Mohawks. On his return, accompanied by Father Jean Lalande, he was met by a hostile band of Mohawks near the present Auriesville, N.Y., where both priests were murdered. Feast: Sept. 26 or (among the Jesuits) Mar. 16.

Isaacs, Sir Isaac Alfred, 1855-1948, Australian jurist and political leader. He sat in the colonial legislature (1892-1901), became solicitor general (1893), and served as attorney general (1894-99, 1900-1901). He was a framer of the commonwealth constitution and sat in the dominion Parliament (1901-6), becoming attorney general in 1905. He was for many years (1906-30) a high court justice and sat as chief justice (1930-31). His appointment (1931) as governor-general was the first made by the British crown directly on the advice of a dominion ministry. The first native-born Australian to hold that office, he served until 1936.

Isaac, Heinrich, c.1450-1517, Flemish composer. Isaac, a prolific and versatile composer, traveled widely in Europe, serving at the courts of Lorenzo de' Medici and Emperor Maximilian I. Among his best-known works is the collection of 99 four-part settings of the proper chants of the mass known as Choralis Constantinus, a monumental collection of Gregorian liturgical music. He also wrote many motets, masses, hymns, and secular songs.

Isaac II (Isaac Angelus), d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1185-95, 1203-4). The great grandson of Alexius I, he was proclaimed emperor by the mob that had killed the unpopular Andronicus I. Isaac repulsed (1185) an invasion by the Normans under William II of Sicily but was unable to suppress the rebellious Bulgars. Corruption in public office continued during his reign. He was deposed and blinded in 1195 by his brother, who became emperor as Alexius III, but Isaac's son (later Alexius IV) appealed to the Latins of the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades), and in 1203 father and son were restored as coemperors. Their overthrow (1204) by Alexius Ducas (Alexius V) led to the storming of Constantinople by the Crusaders.

Isaac I (Isaac Comnenus), c.1005-1061, Byzantine emperor (1057-59), first of the Comneni dynasty. Proclaimed emperor by the army, he deposed Michael VI, who had succeeded Theodora (reigned 1055-56), and sent him into a monastery. Although at first received with enthusiasm at Constantinople, Isaac soon lost popularity with the aristocracy and, because of his confiscation of ecclesiastic property, with the church and the patriarch Cerularius, who was exiled. In 1059, after an unsuccessful campaign against the Pechenegs, Isaac abdicated for reasons of health and retired to a monastery. Constantine X (Constantine Ducas) was his successor. After the reigns of Romanus IV, Michael VII, and Nicephorus III, the Comnenus dynasty returned to the throne with Isaac's nephew Alexius I.

Isaac [Heb.,=laughter], according to the patriarchal narratives of the Book of Genesis, Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sara. He married Rebecca, and their sons were Esau and Jacob. Ishmael was his half brother. As a supreme act of faith Abraham offered him at an early age as a sacrifice to God—a deed prevented by divine intervention. The Philistine king Abimelech gave him shelter in time of famine, and he grew rich in lands and possessions. Before his death, Rebecca, by ruse, caused him to bless Jacob in place of Esau. Isaac is also attested in the Qur'an. Scholarship generally regards the patriarchal stories of Genesis, including those concerning Isaac, as having their origin in folk memories and oral traditions of the early Hebrew pastoralist experience.

Hull, Isaac, 1773-1843, American naval officer, b. Derby, Conn. He served in the undeclared naval war with France (1798-1800) and in the Tripolitan War before being promoted to captain in 1806. In 1810 he was given command of the Constitution. Early in the War of 1812 he slipped his ship out of Chesapeake Bay and, evading seven enemy ships, succeeded in making his way through the British blockade to Boston Harbor. On Aug. 19, 1812, the Constitution met the Guerrière in one of America's great sea battles. Hull's superior seamanship forced the British vessel to surrender.

Hecker, Isaac Thomas, 1819-88, American Roman Catholic priest, founder of the Paulist Fathers; son of Prussian immigrants. Feeling the general discontent of his day in the dying Puritanism of New England, he associated with the transcendentalists, stayed for a short time at Brook Farm, and was a friend of Thoreau, Emerson, Bronson Alcott, and Orestes Brownson. Still dissatisfied, he entered (1844) the Roman Catholic Church, joined the Redemptorist order, and was ordained a priest (1849). Returning (1851) from abroad, he worked with immigrant Catholics in the United States. He was a successful missionary, but his intense zeal, doubts of his own worthiness, ill health, and his fixed purpose caused a somewhat stormy career. Difficulties with his order caused him to be expelled, but the pope dispensed him and his colleagues of their vows and allowed them in 1858 to found the Missionary Priests of St. Paul the Apostle (the Paulist Fathers)—an order that achieved prominence in the United States. Father Hecker, who was the superior until his death, founded the Paulist magazine Catholic World. Although ideas allegedly based on those of Hecker were later condemned as the heresy of "Americanism," the whole controversy was settled by an encyclical (1899) of Pope Leo XIII, without Father Hecker or any other American priest ever being specifically charged with holding the heretical views.

Good, James Isaac, 1850-1924, American clergyman of the German Reformed Church, b. York, Pa. He held pastorates in York, Philadelphia, and Reading, Pa., and in 1890 he became professor in the School of Theology of Ursinus College. He was dean from 1893 to 1907, and in 1907 he became professor of church history and liturgics at the Central Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. From 1911 to 1914 he was president of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States. He wrote many books on the origins and history of the Reformed Church in Germany and the United States.

Friedman, Jerome Isaac, 1930-, American physicist, b. Chicago, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1956. A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Friedman won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics with Richard E. Taylor and Henry W. Kendall for a series of experiments (1967-73) that showed that protons and neutrons are not fundamental particles of matter but are composed of smaller particles known as quarks. This evidence allowed scientists to develop the Standard Model theory of matter, which states that all matter is made up of combinations of six quarks and six leptons that interact with five types of force particles (see elementary particles).

Errett, Isaac, 1820-88, American minister of the Disciples of Christ, b. New York City. After years of pastoral and evangelistic work in pioneer towns of Ohio and Michigan, he became (1866) the first editor of the Christian Standard and made it the denomination's foremost periodical.

Deutscher, Isaac, 1907-67, English writer, b. Poland. Editor (1926-32) of the Communist press in Poland, he was expelled from the party for his anti-Stalinist views. During World War II he escaped to England in 1939, and he served on the staffs of the Economist and the Observer. Deutscher made notable use of his literary and political acumen in writing a number of excellent works on Soviet topics. Outstanding are his scholarly biography of Stalin (1949) and his trilogy on Trotsky, The Prophet Armed (1954), The Prophet Unarmed (1959), and The Prophet Outcast (1963).

D'Israeli, Isaac, 1766-1848, English critic and historian, b. London; father of Benjamin Disraeli. Born into a wealthy Jewish family, he produced his first poem at the age of 14. His best-known work is Curiosities of Literature (6 vol., 1791-1834), a miscellany of literary and historical anecdotes and original material. D'Israeli's five-volume study of Charles I (1828-31) marked a great advance in methods of historical research and earned him the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law at Oxford.

Crémieux, (Isaac) Adolphe, 1796-1880, Jewish-French statesman and political writer. A lawyer, he served briefly as minister of justice in the provisional government of 1848 after the overthrow of King Louis Philippe. He supported Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) for president, but opposed his coup (Dec., 1851) and as a result was imprisoned temporarily in 1851. In 1870, after Napoleon III's fall, he became minister of justice in the government of national defense. In this position he eliminated the death penalty for political offenders, abolished slavery in the colonies, and extended full French citizenship rights to the Jews of Algeria. He was president (1876) of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, through which he advocated international Jewish emancipation and founded Jewish schools in Cairo and Alexandria.

Casaubon, Isaac, 1559-1614, English classical scholar and theologian, b. Geneva. He became professor of Greek at Geneva and at Montpellier and by his learning attracted the notice of Henry IV, who made him royal librarian. After Henry's death, he was invited to England by the archbishop of Canterbury. He joined the Church of England and in 1610 James I granted him a royal stipend. The next year Casaubon became an English subject, remaining in England the rest of his life. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Casaubon's great works are his editions of the classics, particularly Athenaeus and the Characters of Theophrastus. His diary, Ephemerides, was edited by his son, Florence Étienne Méric Casaubon, 1599-1671, who was also a classical scholar.

Butt, Isaac, 1813-79, Irish politician and nationalist leader. A member of both the Irish and the English bar, he was a noted conservative lawyer and scholar and an opponent of Daniel O'Connell. After the Irish famine experience of the 1840s, however, he became increasingly liberal, defended participants in the abortive Young Ireland revolt (1848), and entered (1852) Parliament as a Liberal-Conservative. He continually urged land tenure reform, defended the Fenian leaders, and founded (1870) the Home Rule Society. By 1874 the parliamentary group, the Home Rule League, comprised 56 members under his leadership. He remained nominal leader of the Home Rule movement until his death, although effective leadership gradually passed to Charles Stewart Parnell.

Browere, John Henri Isaac, 1792-1834, American sculptor, b. New York City, studied painting in New York under Archibald Robertson and sculpture in Europe. He is known for his life masks, many of famous Americans, which he produced in hopes of establishing a national gallery of bronze busts. Among his subjects were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, De Witt Clinton, and James and Dolley Madison (N.Y. State Historical Assoc., Cooperstown). The artistry of Browere's work lies in the choice of expression and the manipulation of facial details and hair; all his portraits are singularly strong in effect.

Brock, Sir Isaac, 1769-1812, British general, Canadian hero of the War of 1812. A British army officer, he was sent to Canada in 1802 and was given command (1806) of Upper and Lower Canada. He strengthened defenses and made plans for a navy. In 1811 he was made major general and was appointed administrator of Upper Canada. At the outbreak of war, Brock joined forces with Tecumseh on the Western frontier and moved against Detroit. He captured Gen. William Hull's army (1812) and gained control of the upper lakes. For this he received a knighthood and the title "hero of Upper Canada." After Detroit he successfully defended Queenston Heights on the Niagara frontier, but was killed while leading a charge.

Bickerstaffe, Isaac, c.1735-c.1812, English dramatist, b. Ireland. Included among his comedies and ballad operas are The Maid of the Mill (produced in 1765) and The Padlock (produced in 1768).

Bickerstaff, Isaac, pseudonym used by Jonathan Swift and later by Richard Steele in the Tatler.

Beeckman, Isaac, 1588-1637, Dutch physicist. An early proponent of mathematical reasoning and experimental verification in natural philosophy, he contributed to the modern conception of inertia and free fall and discovered an important hydrodynamic law concerning the rate of flow of water from a vessel. Although his recorded scientific work is largely confined to his Journael (diary) and notes, he influenced scientific development through his personal acquaintance with such famous contemporaries as René Descartes, Pierre Gassendi, and Marin Mersenne, and through his rectorship of the Latin school at Dordrecht.

Barré, Isaac, 1726-1802, British soldier and politician. He served under Gen. James Wolfe in the French and Indian Wars and was wounded at Quebec (1759). Entering Parliament in 1761, he was adjutant general and governor of Stirling (1763-64), vice treasurer of Ireland (1764-68), treasurer of the navy in the 2d Rockingham ministry (1782), and paymaster general under Lord Shelburne (1782-83). A powerful orator, he constantly condemned the taxing and repression of the American colonists. His advocacy of their cause is commemorated in the names of Barre, Mass., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Barrow, Isaac, 1630-77, English mathematician and theologian. His method of finding tangents prefigured the differential calculus developed by Isaac Newton. He was professor of mathematics at Cambridge from 1663 to 1669 and was succeeded by Newton. Barrow became master of Trinity College in 1672 and vice chancellor of Cambridge in 1675. His theological works were edited by Alexander Napier (1859) and his mathematical works by William Whewell (1860).

Backus, Isaac, 1724-1806, American clergyman, leader among New England Baptists and a champion of religious freedom, b. Norwich, Conn. Converted in the Great Awakening, he joined the separatists or "New Light" faction. He became pastor in 1748 of a Congregational church in Middleboro, Mass.; after his adherence to the Baptist faith, he organized and became minister of a Baptist church there, which he served from 1756 until his death. According to his calculations, Backus traveled over 68,000 mi (109,435 km) on his evangelistic tours, mostly on horseback. His History of New England with Particular Reference to the … Baptists (3 vol., 1777-96) is a major source for the religious history of the region and the period.

Babel, Isaac Emmanuelovich, 1894-1940, Russian writer, b. Odessa. Babel was quick to embrace the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, but in the end it was the regime born of that revolution that destroyed him. He won fame with Odessa Tales (1921-23), written in Russian-Jewish dialect, and Red Cavalry (1926, tr. 1929), dramatic stories based on his life in the army (he had concealed his Jewish identity) and employing the racy slang of the Kuban Cossacks with whom he rode. The original journal from which this book was written, 1920 Journal, was published in Russia as the Soviet Union disintegrated and translated into English in 1995. A brilliant litarary stylist, he wrote a uniquely terse and forceful prose, combining astringent Jewish irony with Russian caricature, lyricism with brutality, and comedy with bleakly grave subject matter. He also wrote the novel Benia Krik (1927) about an Odessan Jewish gangster, and turned to drama with Sunset (1928) and Maria (1935). Babel was criticized by the Communist party during the 1930s, arrested in 1939, and executed in 1940 after a 20-minute trial. After Stalin's death, some of his works were republished in censored form in the Soviet Union. Translations of his best stories appear in Collected Stories (1955) and You Must Know Everything (1969). The Complete Works of Isaac Babel, edited by his daughter Nathalie, was published in English translation in 2001.

Asimov, Isaac, 1920-92, American author and scientist, b. Petrovichi, USSR, grad. Columbia Univ. (B.S., 1939; M.A., 1941; Ph.D., 1948). An astonishingly prolific author, he wrote over 400 books. He first became prominent as a writer of such science fiction as I, Robot (1950, repr. 1970), The Caves of Steel (1954), and his most famous novel, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-53), which chronicled the fall of the Galactic Empire. They were supplemented by two additional novels, Foundation's Edge (1982) and Robots and Empire (1985). He was also a great popularizer of science. His works in this field include The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (2 vol., rev. ed. 1965), The Stars in Their Courses (1971), and Did Comets Kill the Dinosaurs? (1987). In his later years he wrote on a diverse number of subjects, including guides to the Bible (1968-69) and Shakespeare (1970).

Allerton, Isaac, c.1586-1659, Pilgrim settler in Plymouth Colony. Possibly a London tailor, he was a merchant in Leiden before going to America on the Mayflower. From 1626 to 1631, acting as the agent of Plymouth Colony, he was often in England. While there he bought up the rights of merchants in the enterprise and in 1630 secured a new patent for the colony. The terms of the new patent, however, were opposed by William Bradford and other colonists. Allerton was at best incompetent and ran up the debt, even if he was not—as his neighbors accused him of being—dishonest. He was personally a wealthy man. He probably left Plymouth Colony in 1631 and was later at Marblehead, at New Amsterdam, and in the New Haven colony.

Albéniz, Isaac, 1860-1909, Spanish pianist and composer. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of four. When still young, he ran away from home and traveled in North and South America and Spain, supporting himself by playing the piano. As a composer, he was influenced by Liszt and studied with D'Indy and Dukas, among others. He in turn influenced Debussy and Ravel in their piano compositions. Filipe Pedrell interested him in Spanish music. Although he wrote operas, songs, and many short piano pieces, he is best remembered for his later piano works (especially Iberia, 1906-9), which combine a stylized use of Spanish folk material with a brilliant pianistic idiom.

Al-Fasi, Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen, 1013-1103, prominent Jewish Talmudic scholar of the very late Gaonic period, b. near Fès, N Africa. He headed the rabbinical school at Fès until forced out at the age of 75 by political intrigues. He then settled in Lucena, Spain, where he established a school. His Halachoth [book of laws] contains a digest of legal decisions distilled from the Talmud. It played a significant role in establishing the supremacy of the Babylonian over the Palestinian Talmud and the 1881 edition is appended to regular editions of the Talmud. He is also known for his collection of Responsa, many of which were written in Arabic and later translated into Hebrew.

Abravanel or Abarbanel, Isaac, 1437-1508, Jewish theologian, biblical commentator, and financier, b. Lisbon. He served as treasurer to Alfonso V of Portugal but fled that country when he was implicated (1483) in a plot. He was then employed by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, until they expelled the Jews from their kingdom. He was later employed by the governments of Naples and Venice. His biblical commentaries are notable for their interpretation of the books of the Bible in terms of their various historical and social backgrounds and for their liberal quotations from Christian commentaries. Abravanel attacked the use (by Maimonides) of philosophical allegory, which he believed weakened the faith of many and thus tended to undermine the Jewish community in a precarious time. In his analyses of the Messianic prophecies he specifically denied Christian claims of Jesus as the Messiah (a dangerous position to take at that time), and looked to an impending Messianic age in which the Dispersion would end with Israel's return to the Holy Land and the reign of Messianic rule for all humanity.

Abarbanel, Isaac: see Abravanel, Isaac.

(born March 29, 1819, Steingrub, Bohemia, Austrian Empire—died March 26, 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) Rabbi and organizer of Reform Judaism in the U.S. After emigrating from Bohemia, in 1854 he accepted a pulpit in Cincinnati, a post he held the rest of his life. He propagandized tirelessly for centralized Reform institutions and was instrumental in the formation of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, both of which he presided over. In 1857 he compiled a standard Reform prayer book, Minhag America. Though he failed to unite American Jews of all persuasions, he did bring about unanimity among Reform Jews.

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(born July 17, 1674, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.—died Nov. 25, 1748, Stoke Newington, London) English Nonconformist minister, regarded as the father of English hymnody. Watts studied at the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington, London, and he later became pastor of Mark Lane Independent (i.e., Congregational) Chapel. His collections of sacred lyrics include Horae Lyricae (1706), Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), and The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719). His hymns, numbering more than 600, became known throughout Protestant Christendom; they include “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Joy to the World,” and “Jesus Shall Reign.” A man of great erudition, he published books on a range of subjects.

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(born July 21, 1920, Kremenets, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died Sept. 22, 2001, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. violinist. His family came to the U.S. when he was an infant. He first performed with the San Francisco Symphony in 1936, and he made his New York City debut at age 17. After World War II, he began to tour extensively (including the Soviet Union in 1956). In 1960 he formed a famous trio with pianist Eugene Istomin (b. 1925) and cellist Leonard Rose (1918–84). He was instrumental in saving Carnegie Hall from demolition, helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts, and was a key presence in the musical life of Israel.

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(born Jan. 4, 1643, Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, Eng.—died March 31, 1727, London) English physicist and mathematician. The son of a yeoman, he was raised by his grandmother. He was educated at Cambridge University (1661–65), where he discovered the work of René Descartes. His experiments passing sunlight through a prism led to the discovery of the heterogeneous, corpuscular nature of white light and laid the foundation of physical optics. He built the first reflecting telescope in 1668 and became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge in 1669. He worked out the fundamentals of calculus, though this work went unpublished for more than 30 years. His most famous publication, Principia Mathematica (1687), grew out of correspondence with Edmond Halley. Describing his works on the laws of motion (see Newton's laws of motion), orbital dynamics, tidal theory, and the theory of universal gravitation, it is regarded as the seminal work of modern science. He was elected president of the Royal Society of London in 1703 and became the first scientist ever to be knighted in 1705. During his career he engaged in heated arguments with several of his colleagues, including Robert Hooke (over authorship of the inverse square relation of gravitation) and G.W. Leibniz (over the authorship of calculus). The battle with Leibniz dominated the last 25 years of his life; it is now well established that Newton developed calculus first, but that Leibniz was the first to publish on the subject. Newton is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time.

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(born Oct. 27, 1811, Pittstown, N.Y., U.S.—died July 23, 1875, Torquay, Devon, Eng.) U.S. inventor and manufacturer. He became an apprentice machinist at 19. He patented a rock-drilling machine (1839) and a metal- and wood-carving machine (1849) before producing an improved version of Elias Howe's sewing machine in 1851 and soon thereafter founding I.M. Singer & Co. (see Singer Co.) to manufacture it. Howe's successful patent-infringement suit against him in 1854 did not prevent Singer from manufacturing his machine, and his company was soon the world's largest sewing-machine producer. He patented numerous further improvements in the technology; he also pioneered the use of installment credit plans.

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Yiddish Yitskhok Bashevis Zinger

(born July 14?, 1904, Radzymin, Pol., Russian Empire—died July 24, 1991, Surfside, Fla., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and essays. He received a traditional Jewish education at the Warsaw Rabbinical Seminary. After publishing his first novel, Satan in Goray (1932), he immigrated to the U.S. in 1935 and wrote for the Jewish Daily Forward, a Yiddish newspaper in New York. Though he continued to write mostly in Yiddish, he personally supervised the English translations. Depicting Jewish life in Poland and the U.S., his works are a rich blend of irony, wit, and wisdom, flavoured distinctively with the occult and the grotesque. His works include the novels The Family Moskat (1950), The Magician of Lublin (1960), and Enemies: A Love Story (1972; film, 1989); the story collections Gimpel the Fool (1957), The Spinoza of Market Street (1961), and A Crown of Feathers (1973, National Book Award); and the play Yentl the Yeshiva Boy (1974; film, 1983). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.

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(born July 1?, 1730, West Brewster, Mass.—died Oct. 28, 1786, Canton, China) American patriot. A merchant in New York City, he supported the patriots' cause in the Stamp Act riots. As a member of the radical Sons of Liberty, he headed a boycott of British goods to protest the Townshend Acts. He led the ouster of loyalist officials from New York City and seized control of the municipal government until George Washington's troops arrived (1775). From Boston he organized privateers to prey on British ships. He died while on a trading venture in China.

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(born July 29, 1898, Rymanów, Austria-Hungary—died Jan. 11, l988, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. physicist. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he later taught physics (from 1929). In 1940–45 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he led a group of scientists who helped develop radar, and he succeeded J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission's General Advisory Committee (1952–56). He was the first to propose the joint European laboratory CERN, and he helped found New York's Brookhaven National Laboratory. His method for measuring the magnetic properties of atoms, atomic nuclei, and molecules (1937) led to the atomic clock, the maser, the laser, magnetic resonance imaging, and the central technique for molecular and atomic beam experimentation; it also won him a 1944 Nobel Prize.

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or Yitskhok Leybush Perets

(born May 18, 1852, or May 20, 1851, Zamość, Pol., Russian Empire—died April 3, 1915, Warsaw) Polish writer. Peretz wrote prolifically, mostly in Yiddish, bringing to the language both a new expressive force and modernizing influences from western European art and literature. His tales of Hasidic lore (e.g., the Silent Souls series) are elegiac meditations on traditional values that draw material from the lives of impoverished eastern European Jews. Among his works are story collections, including Folktales (1908), the drama The Golden Chain (1909), and articles on many subjects to encourage Jews toward wider secular knowledge.

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(born Jan. 4, 1643, Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, Eng.—died March 31, 1727, London) English physicist and mathematician. The son of a yeoman, he was raised by his grandmother. He was educated at Cambridge University (1661–65), where he discovered the work of René Descartes. His experiments passing sunlight through a prism led to the discovery of the heterogeneous, corpuscular nature of white light and laid the foundation of physical optics. He built the first reflecting telescope in 1668 and became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge in 1669. He worked out the fundamentals of calculus, though this work went unpublished for more than 30 years. His most famous publication, Principia Mathematica (1687), grew out of correspondence with Edmond Halley. Describing his works on the laws of motion (see Newton's laws of motion), orbital dynamics, tidal theory, and the theory of universal gravitation, it is regarded as the seminal work of modern science. He was elected president of the Royal Society of London in 1703 and became the first scientist ever to be knighted in 1705. During his career he engaged in heated arguments with several of his colleagues, including Robert Hooke (over authorship of the inverse square relation of gravitation) and G.W. Leibniz (over the authorship of calculus). The battle with Leibniz dominated the last 25 years of his life; it is now well established that Newton developed calculus first, but that Leibniz was the first to publish on the subject. Newton is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time.

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(born 1534, Jerusalem—died Aug. 5, 1572, Safed, Syria) Jewish mystic and founder of a school of Kabbala. He was brought up in Egypt, where he pursued rabbinic studies. He dedicated himself to the study of the Kabbala with messianic fervour, and in 1570 he journeyed to a centre of the movement in Galilee. He died two years later in an epidemic, having written little. The Lurianic Kabbala, a collection of Luria's doctrines recorded after his death by a pupil, had great influence on later Jewish mysticism and on Hasidism. It propounds a theory of the creation and later degeneration of the world and calls for restoration of the original harmony through ritual meditation and secret combinations of words.

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(born July 29, 1898, Rymanów, Austria-Hungary—died Jan. 11, l988, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. physicist. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he later taught physics (from 1929). In 1940–45 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he led a group of scientists who helped develop radar, and he succeeded J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission's General Advisory Committee (1952–56). He was the first to propose the joint European laboratory CERN, and he helped found New York's Brookhaven National Laboratory. His method for measuring the magnetic properties of atoms, atomic nuclei, and molecules (1937) led to the atomic clock, the maser, the laser, magnetic resonance imaging, and the central technique for molecular and atomic beam experimentation; it also won him a 1944 Nobel Prize.

Learn more about Rabi, I(sidor) I(saac) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born circa 1450, Brabant—died 1517, Florence) Flemish composer. He spent much of his career in Italy, especially Florence, but was known as a leading representative of the Netherlandish style. As court composer to Emperor Maximilian I (from 1497), he was allowed to travel. He had many students, including Ludwig Senfl, and his historical importance in Germany is as the main disseminator of the progressive Northern style there. The beauty and quality of his works, which include over 100 masses, dozens of motets, and secular songs, have led some to regard him as second only to Josquin des Prez among his contemporaries.

Learn more about Isaac, Heinrich with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born 1534, Jerusalem—died Aug. 5, 1572, Safed, Syria) Jewish mystic and founder of a school of Kabbala. He was brought up in Egypt, where he pursued rabbinic studies. He dedicated himself to the study of the Kabbala with messianic fervour, and in 1570 he journeyed to a centre of the movement in Galilee. He died two years later in an epidemic, having written little. The Lurianic Kabbala, a collection of Luria's doctrines recorded after his death by a pupil, had great influence on later Jewish mysticism and on Hasidism. It propounds a theory of the creation and later degeneration of the world and calls for restoration of the original harmony through ritual meditation and secret combinations of words.

Learn more about Luria, Isaac ben Solomon with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born July 17, 1674, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.—died Nov. 25, 1748, Stoke Newington, London) English Nonconformist minister, regarded as the father of English hymnody. Watts studied at the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington, London, and he later became pastor of Mark Lane Independent (i.e., Congregational) Chapel. His collections of sacred lyrics include Horae Lyricae (1706), Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), and The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719). His hymns, numbering more than 600, became known throughout Protestant Christendom; they include “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Joy to the World,” and “Jesus Shall Reign.” A man of great erudition, he published books on a range of subjects.

Learn more about Watts, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born July 21, 1920, Kremenets, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died Sept. 22, 2001, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. violinist. His family came to the U.S. when he was an infant. He first performed with the San Francisco Symphony in 1936, and he made his New York City debut at age 17. After World War II, he began to tour extensively (including the Soviet Union in 1956). In 1960 he formed a famous trio with pianist Eugene Istomin (b. 1925) and cellist Leonard Rose (1918–84). He was instrumental in saving Carnegie Hall from demolition, helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts, and was a key presence in the musical life of Israel.

Learn more about Stern, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born July 1?, 1730, West Brewster, Mass.—died Oct. 28, 1786, Canton, China) American patriot. A merchant in New York City, he supported the patriots' cause in the Stamp Act riots. As a member of the radical Sons of Liberty, he headed a boycott of British goods to protest the Townshend Acts. He led the ouster of loyalist officials from New York City and seized control of the municipal government until George Washington's troops arrived (1775). From Boston he organized privateers to prey on British ships. He died while on a trading venture in China.

Learn more about Sears, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Oct. 27, 1811, Pittstown, N.Y., U.S.—died July 23, 1875, Torquay, Devon, Eng.) U.S. inventor and manufacturer. He became an apprentice machinist at 19. He patented a rock-drilling machine (1839) and a metal- and wood-carving machine (1849) before producing an improved version of Elias Howe's sewing machine in 1851 and soon thereafter founding I.M. Singer & Co. (see Singer Co.) to manufacture it. Howe's successful patent-infringement suit against him in 1854 did not prevent Singer from manufacturing his machine, and his company was soon the world's largest sewing-machine producer. He patented numerous further improvements in the technology; he also pioneered the use of installment credit plans.

Learn more about Singer, Isaac Merritt with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 29, 1819, Steingrub, Bohemia, Austrian Empire—died March 26, 1900, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) Rabbi and organizer of Reform Judaism in the U.S. After emigrating from Bohemia, in 1854 he accepted a pulpit in Cincinnati, a post he held the rest of his life. He propagandized tirelessly for centralized Reform institutions and was instrumental in the formation of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, both of which he presided over. In 1857 he compiled a standard Reform prayer book, Minhag America. Though he failed to unite American Jews of all persuasions, he did bring about unanimity among Reform Jews.

Learn more about Wise, Isaac Mayer with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or Yitskhok Leybush Perets

(born May 18, 1852, or May 20, 1851, Zamość, Pol., Russian Empire—died April 3, 1915, Warsaw) Polish writer. Peretz wrote prolifically, mostly in Yiddish, bringing to the language both a new expressive force and modernizing influences from western European art and literature. His tales of Hasidic lore (e.g., the Silent Souls series) are elegiac meditations on traditional values that draw material from the lives of impoverished eastern European Jews. Among his works are story collections, including Folktales (1908), the drama The Golden Chain (1909), and articles on many subjects to encourage Jews toward wider secular knowledge.

Learn more about Peretz, I(saac) L(eib) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 9, 1773, Derby, Conn.—died Feb. 13, 1843, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. naval officer. A nephew of William Hull, he was master of a ship by age 19. He was commissioned a lieutenant aboard the USS Constitution in 1798, becoming its commander in 1810. He distinguished himself in the undeclared naval war with France at that time and in the Tripolitan War (1801–1805). Early in the War of 1812 he engaged the British frigate Guerrière and, after a fierce battle, rendered it a wreck. He was recognized as one of the navy's ablest commanders, and his ship became known as “Old Ironsides.” He commanded the U.S. squadrons in the Pacific (1824–27) and in the Mediterranean (1839–41).

Learn more about Hull, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born 1672, Dublin, Ire.—died Sept. 1, 1729, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales) English journalist, dramatist, essayist, and politician. He began his long friendship with Joseph Addison at school and attempted an army career before turning to writing. He launched and was the principal author (under the name Isaac Bickerstaff) of the essay periodical The Tatler (April 1709–January 1711), in which he created the mixture of entertainment and instruction in manners and morals that he and Addison would perfect in The Spectator. His attractive, often casual writing style was a perfect foil for Addison's more measured, erudite prose. He made many later ventures into journalism, some politically partisan, and held several government posts. In 1714 he became governor of Drury Lane Theatre, where he produced The Conscious Lovers (1723), one of the century's most popular plays and perhaps the best example of English sentimental comedy.

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Yiddish Yitskhok Bashevis Zinger

(born July 14?, 1904, Radzymin, Pol., Russian Empire—died July 24, 1991, Surfside, Fla., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and essays. He received a traditional Jewish education at the Warsaw Rabbinical Seminary. After publishing his first novel, Satan in Goray (1932), he immigrated to the U.S. in 1935 and wrote for the Jewish Daily Forward, a Yiddish newspaper in New York. Though he continued to write mostly in Yiddish, he personally supervised the English translations. Depicting Jewish life in Poland and the U.S., his works are a rich blend of irony, wit, and wisdom, flavoured distinctively with the occult and the grotesque. His works include the novels The Family Moskat (1950), The Magician of Lublin (1960), and Enemies: A Love Story (1972; film, 1989); the story collections Gimpel the Fool (1957), The Spinoza of Market Street (1961), and A Crown of Feathers (1973, National Book Award); and the play Yentl the Yeshiva Boy (1974; film, 1983). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.

Learn more about Singer, Isaac Bashevis with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Jan. 2, 1920, Petrovichi, Russia—died April 6, 1992, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. author and biochemist. He arrived in the U.S. at age 3, earned a doctorate from Columbia University, and subsequently taught for many years at Boston University. Before embarking on graduate study, he had already begun publishing his stories. “Nightfall” (1941) is often called the finest science-fiction short story ever written. His I, Robot (1950) greatly influenced how later writers treated intelligent machines. A trilogy of novels—Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation (1951–53)—is widely considered a classic. Asimov's nonfiction science books for lay readers are noted for their lucidity and humour. Immensely prolific, he published more than 300 volumes in all.

Learn more about Asimov, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 9, 1773, Derby, Conn.—died Feb. 13, 1843, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. naval officer. A nephew of William Hull, he was master of a ship by age 19. He was commissioned a lieutenant aboard the USS Constitution in 1798, becoming its commander in 1810. He distinguished himself in the undeclared naval war with France at that time and in the Tripolitan War (1801–1805). Early in the War of 1812 he engaged the British frigate Guerrière and, after a fierce battle, rendered it a wreck. He was recognized as one of the navy's ablest commanders, and his ship became known as “Old Ironsides.” He commanded the U.S. squadrons in the Pacific (1824–27) and in the Mediterranean (1839–41).

Learn more about Hull, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born circa 1450, Brabant—died 1517, Florence) Flemish composer. He spent much of his career in Italy, especially Florence, but was known as a leading representative of the Netherlandish style. As court composer to Emperor Maximilian I (from 1497), he was allowed to travel. He had many students, including Ludwig Senfl, and his historical importance in Germany is as the main disseminator of the progressive Northern style there. The beauty and quality of his works, which include over 100 masses, dozens of motets, and secular songs, have led some to regard him as second only to Josquin des Prez among his contemporaries.

Learn more about Isaac, Heinrich with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Jan. 2, 1920, Petrovichi, Russia—died April 6, 1992, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. author and biochemist. He arrived in the U.S. at age 3, earned a doctorate from Columbia University, and subsequently taught for many years at Boston University. Before embarking on graduate study, he had already begun publishing his stories. “Nightfall” (1941) is often called the finest science-fiction short story ever written. His I, Robot (1950) greatly influenced how later writers treated intelligent machines. A trilogy of novels—Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation (1951–53)—is widely considered a classic. Asimov's nonfiction science books for lay readers are noted for their lucidity and humour. Immensely prolific, he published more than 300 volumes in all.

Learn more about Asimov, Isaac with a free trial on Britannica.com.