[Taylor, Isaac], a voluminous writer on quasi-philosophic subjects, born in Lavenham, Suffolk; passed his life chiefly at Ongar engaged in literary pursuits; contributed to the Eclectic Review, Good Words, and wrote amongst other works "Natural History of Enthusiasm," "Natural History of Fanaticism," "Spiritual Despotism" and "Ultimate Civilisation" (1787-1865). His eldest son, Isaac, entered the Church, and rose to be rector of Settrington, in Yorkshire, and was collated to a canonry of York in 1885; has a wide reputation as a philologist, and author of "Words and Places," and "The Alphabet, an Account of the Origin and Development of Letters," besides "Etruscan Researches," "The Origin of the Aryans," etc.; b. 1829.
[Taylor, Jeremy], great English divine and preacher, born at Cambridge, son of a barber; educated at Caius College; became a Fellow of All Souls', Oxford; took orders; attracted the attention of Laud; was made chaplain to the king, and appointed to the living of Uppingham; on the sequestration of his living in 1642 joined the king at Oxford, and adhered to the royal cause through the Civil War; suffered much privation, and imprisonment at times; returning to Wales, he procured the friendship and enjoyed the patronage of the Earl of Carberry, in whose mansion at Grove he wrote a number of his works; before the Restoration he received preferment in Ireland, and after that event was made bishop, first of Down and then of Dromore; his life here was far from a happy one, partly through insubordination in his diocese and partly through domestic sorrow; his works are numerous, but the principal are his "Liberty of Prophesying," "Holy Living and Holy Dying," "Life of Christ," "Ductor Dubitantium," a work on casuistry; he was a good man and a faithful, more a religious writer than a theological; his books are read more for their devotion than their divinity, and they all give evidence of luxuriance of imagination, to which the epithet "florid" has not inappropriately been applied; in Church matters he was a follower of Laud (1613-1667).
[Taylor, John], known as the "Water-Poet," born at Gloucester; was successively a waterman on the Thames, a sailor in the navy, public-house keeper in Oxford, etc.; walked from London to Edinburgh, "not carrying any money to or fro, neither begging, borrowing, or asking meat, drink, or lodging," and described the journey in his "Penniless Pilgrimage"; wrote also "Travels in Germanie," and enjoyed considerable repute in his time as a humorous rhymester (1580-1654).
[Taylor, Tom], a noted playwright and journalist, born at Sunderland; was elected to a Fellowship at Cambridge, for two years filled the chair of English Literature at University College, London; in 1845 was called to the bar, but shortly afterwards took to journalism, writing leaders for the Morning Chronicle and Daily News; during 1850-1872 held secretarial appointments to the Board of Health and in the Local Government Act Office; succeeded Shirley Brooks as editor of Punch in 1874; was throughout his life a prolific writer and adapter of plays, staging upwards of 100 pieces, of which the best known are "To Parents and Guardians," "Still Waters Run Deep," "Our American Cousin," "Ticket-of-Leave Man," etc. (1817-1880).
[Taylor, William], literary historian and critic, born at Norwich; residence on the Continent enabled him to master French, Italian, and especially German, and confirmed him in his taste for literature, to pursue which he abandoned business; various essays and reviews formed the groundwork of his elaborate "Historic Survey of German Literature," the first systematic survey of German literature presented to English readers; taught German to George Borrow, who in "Lavengro" sketched his interesting personality, which may be further studied in his correspondence with Southey, Scott, etc. (1765-1836).
[Taylor, Zachary], twelfth President of the United States, born in Orange County, Virginia; obtained a lieutenancy in the navy in 1808; first saw service in Indian wars on the north-west frontier; in 1836 cleared the Indians from Florida and won the brevet of brigadier-general; great victories over the Mexicans on the Texan frontier during 1845-48 raised his popularity to such a pitch that on his return he was carried triumphantly into the Presidency; the burning questions of his brief term of office were the proposed admission of California as a free State and the extension of slavery into the newly-acquired territory; was a man of strong character, a daring and skilful general, of unassuming manners, and loved by the mass of the people, to whom he was known as "Old Rough and Ready" (1784-1850).
[Taylor Institute], a building in Oxford erected from bequests by Sir Robert Taylor and Dr. Randolph as a gallery to contain works of art left to the university, and which contains a noble collection.
[Te Deum] (Thee, O God), a grand hymn in Latin, so called from the first words, sung at matins and on occasions of joy and thanksgiving; of uncertain authorship; is called also the Ambrosian Hymn, as ascribed, though without foundation, to St. Ambrose; is with more reason seemingly ascribed to Hilary, bishop of Aries.
[Teazle, Lady], the heroine in Sheridan's "School for Scandal," married to a man old enough to be her father, Sir Peter Teazle.