Burroughs, William S(eward)

Burroughs, William S(eward)
I
born Feb. 5, 1914, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.
died Aug. 2, 1997, Lawrence, Kan.

U.S. novelist.

The grandson of the inventor William S. Burroughs, he attended Harvard University and later became a member of the central group of the Beat movement. His experimental novels evoke, in deliberately erratic prose, a nightmarish, sometimes wildly humorous world. His early Junkie (1953) frankly describes his experiences as a heroin addict. The Naked Lunch (1959; film, 1991), his best-known work, is preoccupied with homosexuality and police persecution and vividly satirizes the grotesque world of the addict. (Burroughs accidentally killed his second wife while executing a drunken prank.) In his later novels, including The Soft Machine (1961), Nova Express (1964), The Wild Boys (1971), Cities of the Red Night (1981), and The Western Lands (1987), he further experimented with dystopian visions and radical technical devices.
II
born Jan. 28, 1855, Auburn, N.Y., U.S.
died Sept. 15, 1898, Citronelle, Ala.

U.S. inventor.

He was self-supporting from age 15. In 1885 he constructed his first calculating machine; though it proved commercially impractical, he patented a practical model in 1892. This machine was a commercial success, but he died before he could earn much money from it. A year before his death he received the Franklin Institute's John Scott Medal. In 1905 the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. was organized as successor to the company he had started. William S. Burroughs was his grandson.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Burroughs, William S(eward) — I (28 ene. 1855, Auburn, N.Y., EE.UU.–15 sep. 1898, Citronelle, Ala.). Inventor estadounidense. Desde los 15 años tuvo que mantenerse por sus propios medios. En 1885 construyó su primera máquina calculadora; aunque resultó ser comercialmente poco …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Burroughs — Burroughs, Edgard Rice Burroughs, William * * * (as used in expressions) Burroughs, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Burroughs, William S(eward) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • William — (as used in expressions) William Alexander Abbott Aberhart, William George William Russell Amis, Sir Kingsley (William) Ashley, William Henry Ashton, Sir Frederick (William Mallandaine) Barkley, Alben W(illiam) Bartram, William William Allen… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Burroughs — [bʉr′ōz] 1. Edgar Rice 1875 1950; U.S. writer of popular fiction: known for his Tarzan stories 2. John 1837 1921; U.S. naturalist & writer 3. William S(eward) 1914 97; U.S. novelist …   English World dictionary

  • Burroughs — /berr ohz, bur /, n. 1. Edgar Rice, 1875 1950, U.S. novelist and short story writer. 2. John, 1837 1921, U.S. naturalist and essayist. 3. William Seward, 1855 98, U.S. inventor of the adding machine. 4. his grandson William S(eward), born 1914, U …   Universalium

  • Burroughs — Bur•roughs [[t]ˈbɜr oʊz, ˈbʌr [/t]] n. 1) big Edgar Rice, 1875–1950, U.S. novelist 2) big John, 1837–1921, U.S. naturalist and essayist 3) big William Seward, 1855–98, U.S. inventor of the adding machine 4) big his grandson William S(eward),… …   From formal English to slang

  • Burroughs — /ˈbʌroʊz/ (say burohz) noun 1. Edgar Rice, 1875–1950, US novelist; author of Tarzan stories. 2. William S(eward), 1914–97, US author, associated with the beat generation; novels include The Naked Lunch (1959) …  

  • Seward — ► Península de E.U.A., en el estado de Alaska, junto al estrecho de Bering. * * * (as used in expressions) Burroughs, William S(eward) Darrow, Clarence (Seward) Seward, península Seward, William H(enry) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Голый завтрак — Эта статья  о романе Уильяма Берроуза. Об экранизации романа см. Обед нагишом (фильм). Голый завтрак Naked Lunch …   Википедия

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