lamb: see mutton; sheep.

Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount, 1779-1848, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1805, was (1827-28) chief secretary for Ireland, and entered (1828) the House of Lords on the death of his father. As home secretary (1830-34) for the 2d Earl Grey, his vigorous suppression of agrarian disturbances and trade unionism (see Tolpuddle Martyrs) ended a reputation for indolence. A believer in aristocratic government, unsympathetic with middle-class political and economic aims, Melbourne accepted the Reform Bill of 1832 as a political necessity.

As prime minister (1834, 1835-39, 1839-41) his views brought him support from Whigs and moderate Tories, and he excluded radicals from his ministries. He conceded such reforms as amendment of the poor law (1834), the Municipal Corporations Act (1835), and liberalization of the Canadian government. He was also conciliatory in his policy toward Ireland. However, he resisted further parliamentary reform and repeal of the corn laws.

Melbourne viewed the prime ministership as a supervisory position; cabinet members, such as Lord Palmerston, played a vital role in developing policy. Handsome and urbane, Melbourne was a favorite of the young Queen Victoria and taught her important lessons in statecraft. It was at her request that he returned to office (1839) after Sir Robert Peel resigned over a disagreement with the queen.

Melbourne's wife, Lady Caroline Lamb, 1785-1828, was clever and beautiful, but also eccentric, impulsive, and indiscreet. She is remembered less for the minor novels that she wrote than for her love affair with Lord Byron. Lady Caroline and her husband separated in 1825.

Lamb, William: see Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount.

Lamb, Lady Caroline: see under Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount.

Lamb, John, 1735-1800, American Revolutionary leader, b. New York City. Prior to the Revolution he was a leader of the Sons of Liberty in New York and helped form the New York committee of correspondence to coordinate anti-British activity. With Isaac Sears he led (1775) a mob that seized the New York customhouse and another that captured the British arms at Turtle Bay in Manhattan. Lamb served in the Quebec campaign and in later battles. In 1784, he became collector of customs in New York City. Later he was one of the leaders of the opposition to the U.S. Constitution in New York.

Lamb, Charles, 1775-1834, English essayist, b. London. He went to school at Christ's Hospital, where his lifelong friendship with Coleridge began. Lamb was a clerk at the India House from 1792 to 1825. In 1796 his sister Mary Ann Lamb (1764-1847) in a fit of temporary insanity attacked and wounded their father and stabbed and killed their mother. Lamb had himself declared her guardian to save her from permanent commitment to an asylum, and after 1799 they lived together. Mary was an intelligent and affectionate companion, but the shadow of her madness continued to plague their lives. They collaborated on several books for children, publishing in 1807 their famous Tales from Shakespeare. Lamb wrote four plays, none of which were successful. However, his dramatic essays, Specimens of English Dramatic Poets (1808), established his reputation as a critic and did much in reviving the popularity of Elizabethan drama. From 1800 on he wrote intermittently for periodicals, the major contribution being the famous Essays of Elia (London Magazine, 1820-25), which were collected in 1823 and 1833. The essays cover a variety of subjects and maintain throughout an intimate and familiar tone. Lamb's style is peculiarly his own. His close-knit, subtle organization, his self-revealing observations on life, and his humor, fantasy, and pathos combine to make him one of the great masters of the English essay. Lamb was a gifted conversationalist and was friendly with most of the major literary figures of his time.

Lamb of God: see Agnus Dei.

Live sheep before the age of one year, and the flesh of such animals. The flesh of the mature ram or ewe at least one year old is called mutton; the meat of sheep 12–20 months old may be called yearling mutton. The meat of sheep 6–10 weeks old is usually sold as baby lamb, and spring lamb comes from sheep 5–6 months old. The primary lamb- and mutton-consuming countries (on a per capita basis) are New Zealand and Australia.

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(born Feb. 10, 1775, London, Eng.—died Dec. 27, 1834, Edmonton, Middlesex) English essayist and critic. Lamb was employed as a clerk at East India House (headquarters for the East India Company) from 1792 to 1825. From 1796 he was guardian of his sister, the writer Mary Lamb (1764–1847), who, in a fit of madness (which proved recurrent), had killed their mother. He is best known for the often autobiographical essays he wrote under the pseudonym Elia for London Magazine, collected in Essays of Elia (1823) and The Last Essays of Elia (1833). Among the greatest of English letter writers, he included some of his most perceptive literary criticism, often in the form of marginalia, in letters. He collaborated with Mary on Tales from Shakespear (1807), a highly popular retelling of the plays for children.

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