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William Payne (mathematician)
William Payne (unknown – c. 1779) was an English mathematicianCourtney, ''A bibliography'', p. 74. and the author of books about mathematics, draughts, and whist. Payne was the brother of prominent London bookseller Thomas Payne, who sold his works and published some of them.Boswell, p. 192. Payne's first book, ''An Introduction to the Game of Draughts'', was published in 1756.Hanley, p. 181. The dedication and preface were written by Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford .... Payne's second book, ''An Introduction to Geometry: Containing the Most Useful Propositions in Euclid, & Other Authors'', was published in 1767. The book ''Maxims for Playing the Game of Whist; With All Necessary Calculations, and Laws of the Game'' was published anonymously in 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Draughts
Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; Commonwealth English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers is developed from alquerque. The term "checkers" derives from the checkered board which the game is played on, whereas "draughts" derives from the verb "to draw" or "to move". The most popular forms of checkers in Anglophone countries are American checkers (also called English draughts), which is played on an 8×8 checkerboard; Russian draughts, Turkish draughts and Armenian draughts, all of them on an 8×8 board; and international draughts, played on a 10×10 board – with the latter widely played in many countries worldwide. There are many other variants played on 8×8 boards. Canadian checkers and Malaysian/Singaporean checkers (also locally known as dam) are played on a 12×12 board. American checkers was weakly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ruff and Honours as the most popular descendant of Triumph played in England during the 17th century. Whist is described as a simpler, more staid, version of Ruff and Honours with the twos removed instead of having a stock. In the 18th century, Whist, played with a 52 card pack, superseded Ruff and Honours. The game takes its name from the 17th-century word ''whist'' (or ''wist'') meaning ''quiet'', ''silent'', ''attentive'', which is the root of the modern ''wistful''. Whist was first played on scientific principles by gentlemen in the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London, around 1728, according to Daines Barrington. Edmond Hoyle, suspected to be a member of this group, began to tutor wealthy young gentlemen in the game and published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Payne
Thomas Payne (c. 1718 – 1799) was an important bookseller and publisher in 18th-century London. Life Payne was born in Brackley, Northamptonshire. From 1750 he ran a shop at Mews Gate in Castle Street near Leicester Fields (the site is now occupied by the National Gallery). The premises were notoriously small, but popular with the literati of that period. Referred to as the "Literary Coffee House", the shop became a sort of club during the day for discussions on all subjects. Patrons included George Steevens, Thomas Crofts, John Hoole and Thomas Tyrwhitt. Payne issued sale catalogues on a regular basis, as did many of his contemporaries, and these are now good sources of information about prices, popular books, bookbinding, and other aspects of 18th-century book history. Payne's daughter Sarah married James Burney, a naval officer and brother of novelist Frances Burney, some of whose work Payne had published. He retired to Finchley in 1790 leaving the business in the hands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' calls him "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, he attended Pembroke College, Oxford, until lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher, he moved to London and began writing for ''The Gentleman's Magazine''. Early works include '' Life of Mr Richard Savage'', the poems ''London'' and '' The Vanity of Human Wishes'' and the play '' Irene''. After nine years of effort, Johnson's '' A Dictionary of the English Language'' appeared in 1755, and was acclaimed as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship". Later work included essays, an annotated '' The Plays of William Shakespeare'', and the apologue '' The Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Prideaux Courtney
William Prideaux Courtney (1845–1913) was a British biographer and civil servant. Writing as W. P. C., he was a contributor to the first edition of the ''Dictionary of National Biography''. He was the brother of Leonard Courtney, 1st Baron Courtney of Penwith (1832–1918), and John Mortimer Courtney (1838–1920). As an administrator he worked for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch .... Works * * * * Courtney, William Prideaux (1894). ''English whist and English whist players.'' Richard Bentley and Son. * Courtney, William Prideaux; Smith, David Nichol (ed.) (1915). ''A bibliography of Samuel Johnson.'' Clarendon Press. * * References External links English biographers 1845 births 1913 deaths People from Penzance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Life Of Samuel Johnson
''The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.'' (1791) by James Boswell is a biography of English writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson. The work was from the beginning a universal critical and popular success, and represents a landmark in the development of the modern genre of biography. Many have called it the greatest biography written in English, one of the greatest biographies ever written, and among the greatest nonfiction books of all time. The book is valued as both an important source of information on Johnson and his times, as well as an important and enduring work of literature. Background On 16 May 1763, as a 22-year-old Scot visiting London, Boswell first met Johnson in the book shop of Johnson's friend Tom Davies. They quickly became friends, although for many years they met only when Boswell visited London in the intervals of his law practice in Scotland. From the age of 20, Boswell kept a series of journals thoroughly detailing his day-to-day experience. This journal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1779 Deaths
Events January–March * January 11 ** British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all territories acquired since 1773. * January 22 – American Revolutionary War – Claudius Smith is hanged at Goshen, Orange County, New York for supposed acts of terrorism upon the people of the surrounding communities. * January 29 – After a second petition for partition from its residents, the North Carolina General Assembly abolishes Bute County, North Carolina (established 1764) by dividing it and naming the northern portion Warren County (for Revolutionary War hero Joseph Warren), the southern portion Franklin County (for Benjamin Franklin). The General Assembly also establishes Warrenton (also named for Joseph Warren) to be the seat of Warren County, and Louisburg (named for Louis XVI of France) to be the seat of Franklin County. * February 12 – Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Bouligny arrives with Malagueño c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century English Mathematicians
The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures. The Industrial Revolution began mid-century, leading to radical changes in human society and the environment. The European colonization of the Americas and other parts of the world intensified and associated mass migrations of people grew in size as part of the Age of Sail. During the century, slave trading expanded across the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, while declining in Russia and China. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
