Putney definition of Putney in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Putney (pŭt`nē), ward of Wandsworth borough, London, England. It is the starting point of the Oxford-Cambridge boat races. Thomas Cromwell Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, 1485?–1540, English statesman. While a young man he lived abroad as a soldier, accountant, and merchant, and on his return (c.1512) to England he engaged in the wool trade and eventually became a lawyer.
..... Click the link for more information. and Edward Gibbon Gibbon, Edward, 1737–94, English historian, author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His childhood was sickly, and he had little formal education but read enormously and omnivorously.
..... Click the link for more information. were born in Putney, and Algernon Swinburne Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837–1909, English poet and critic. His poetry is noted for its vitality and for the music of its language. After attending Eton (1849–53) and Oxford (1856–60) he settled in London on an allowance from his father.
..... Click the link for more information. and William Pitt Pitt, William, 1759–1806, British statesman; 2d son of William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham. Trained as a lawyer, he entered Parliament in 1781 and in 1782 at the age of 23 became chancellor of the exchequer under Lord Shelburne.
..... Click the link for more information. lived there. Putney Heath was the scene of a duel in 1798 between Pitt and George Tierney and of one in 1809 between Lord Castlereagh Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount (kă`səlrā)
..... Click the link for more information. and George Canning Canning, George, 1770–1827, British statesman. Canning was converted to Toryism by the French Revolution, became a disciple of William Pitt, and was his undersecretary for foreign affairs (1796–99).
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