(1892-1940) German Marxist essayist, one of the most important cultural critics of the 20th century. He wrote on literature, film, art, and society. Some of his essays were collected in Einbahnstrasse/One-Way Street 1928 and Illuminationen/Illuminations 1961.
Benjamin's works are a complex and unlikely blend of Marxism and Jewish mysticism. Rejecting more orthodox Marxist esthetic theory, he was a staunch supporter of Modernism, and wrote important essays on the writers Franz Kafka, Bertolt Brecht, and Charles Baudelaire, and on the relationship between technology, the arts, and society.

(1811-1884) US Confederate official. Holding office in the US Senate 1852–61, he was a proponent of secession of the South and resigned from office at the outbreak of the American Civil War. As one of the leaders of the Confederacy, he served as attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state.
Born in St Thomas, Virgin Islands, Benjamin was raised in South Carolina, US, and educated at Yale University. He later joined the legal profession before serving in the state legislature. After the defeat of the Confederacy 1865, he escaped to England where he spent the rest of his life practising law.

(William John) (1960-) English composer, conductor, and pianist. A pupil of Messiaen, his colorful and sonorous works include Ringed by the Flat Horizon 1980, At First Light 1982, Antara 1987, and Cascade 1990.

(1893-1960) Australian pianist and composer. He taught composition at the Royal College of Music in London from 1925, where Benjamin Britten was one of his pupils. His works include Jamaican Rumba, inspired by a visit to the West Indies 1937.

Gum benzoin and tree yielding it; man's tight coat.

City in Texas (USA).