SMITH, JOHN, Cambridge Platonist, born in Northamptonshire; left “Select Discourses,” giving signs both of spiritual insight and vigour of thinking (1616-1652).

SMITH, JOHN, sailor, born in Lincolnshire; had a life of adventure and peril, and became leader of the English colonists of Virginia; established friendly relations with the Indians, returned to this country twice over, and introduced POCAHONTAS (q. v.) to the Queen; died at Gravesend (1580-1631).

SMITH, SYDNEY, political writer and wit, born at Woodford, Essex, of partly English and partly Huguenot blood; educated at Westminster and Oxford, bred for the Church; after a brief curacy in Wiltshire settled in Edinburgh from 1798 to 1803, where, while officiating as a clergyman, he became one of the famous editors of the Edinburgh Review, and a contributor; settled for a time afterwards in London, where he delivered a series of admirable lectures on ethics, till he was appointed to a small living in Yorkshire, and afterwards to a richer living in Somerset, and finally a canonry in St. Paul’s; his writings deal with abuses of the period, and are, except his lectures perhaps, all out of date now (1771-1845).

SMITH, SIR WILLIAM, classical and biblical scholar, born in London; distinguished himself at the university there and took a course of law at Gray’s Inn, but followed his bent for scholarship, and in 1840-42 issued his great “Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities,” following it up with the “Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology” and the “Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography”; did eminent service to the cause of education by a series of popular editions of Greek and Latin texts, school grammars, dictionaries, &c.; not less valuable are his “Dictionary of the Bible,” &c.; was editor of the Quarterly Review from 1867, and in 1892 received a knighthood (1813-1893).

SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON, biblical scholar and critic, born at Keig, Aberdeenshire; educated for the Scottish Free Church, became professor of Hebrew in the connection at Aberdeen; was prosecuted for heresy in the matter of the origin of the books of the Old Testament, and finally removed from the chair; became joint-editor of the “Encyclopaedia Britannica,” and finally professor of Arabic at Cambridge; he was a man of versatile ability, extensive scholarship, keen critical acumen, and he contributed not a little to vindicate the claims of the scholar in regard to the Bible (1846-1894).

SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY, British admiral, born at Westminster; entered the navy at 12, became a captain after many gallant services at 18, was naval adviser to the king of Sweden and knighted, joined Lord Hood off Toulon and helped to burn the French fleet; was taken prisoner by the French in 1796, and after two years made his escape; forced Napoleon to raise the siege of Acre, and was wounded at Aboukir; was rewarded with a pension of L1000, and raised in the end to the rank of admiral (1764-1840).