SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, EARL OF, grandson of the preceding, philosopher, born in London; was an ardent student in his youth, made the grand tour, and entered Parliament in 1694, moving to the Upper House on the death of his father in 1699, where, as a staunch Whig, he gave steady support to William III.; withdrew from politics, never a congenial sphere to him, on the accession of Anne, and followed his bent for literature and philosophy; in 1711 his collected writings appeared under the title “Characteristics,” in which he expounds, in the polite style of the 18th century, with much ingenuity and at times force, a somewhat uncritical optimism, enunciating, among other things, the doubtful maxim that ridicule is the test of truth (1671-1713).

SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, SEVENTH EARL OF, statesman and philanthropist, born in London; was a distinguished graduate of Oxford, and entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1826, took office under Wellington in 1828, and was a lord of the Admiralty in Peel’s ministry of 1834; succeeded to the earldom in 1851; but his name lives by virtue of his noble and lifelong philanthropy, which took shape in numerous Acts of Parliament, such as the Mines and Collieries Act (1842), excluding women and boys under 13 working in mines; the Better Treatment of Lunatics Act (1845), called the Magna Charta of the insane; the Factory Acts (1867); and the Workshop Regulation Act (1878); while outside Parliament he wrought with rare devotion in behalf of countless benevolent and religious schemes of all sorts, notably the Ragged School movement and the better housing of the London poor; received the freedom of Edinburgh and London; was the friend and adviser of the Prince Consort and the Queen (1801-1885).

SHAH (Pers.  “King"), an abbreviation of Shah-in-Shah ("King of Kings"), the title by which the monarchs of Persia are known; may also be used in Afghanistan and other Asiatic countries, but more generally the less assuming title of Khan is taken.

SHAH-JEHAN ("King of the World"), fifth of the Mogul emperors of Delhi; succeeded his father in 1627; a man of great administrative ability and a skilled warrior; conquered the Deccan and the kingdom of Golconda, and generally raised the Mogul Empire to its zenith; his court was truly Eastern in its sumptuous magnificence; the “Peacock Throne” alone cost L7,000,000; died in prison, a victim to the perfidy of his usurping son Aurungzebe; d. 1666.

SHAKERS, a fanatical sect founded by one Ann Lee, so called from their extravagant gestures in worship; they are agamists and communists.