During this voyage he gained a considerable knowledge of the Danish coast and its soundings, greatly to the advantage of his country in after-times.
— from The Life of Horatio, Lord Nelson by Robert Southey

Colter Killed a Goat, & a Curious kind of Deer, a Darker grey than Common the hair longer & finer, the ears verry large & long a Small resepitical under its eye its tail round and white to near the end which is black & like a Cow in every other respect like a Deer, except it runs like a goat.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

The more southern States furnish in greater abundance certain kinds of naval stores—tar, pitch, and turpentine.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

This was the only voyage which I may say was successful in all my adventures, which I owe to the integrity and honesty of my friend the captain; under whom also I got a competent knowledge of the mathematics and the rules of navigation, learned how to keep an account of the ship’s course, take an observation, and, in short, to understand some things that were needful to be understood by a sailor; for, as he took delight to instruct me, I took delight to learn; and, in a word, this voyage made me both a sailor and a merchant; for I brought home five pounds nine ounces of gold-dust for my adventure, which yielded me in London, at my return, almost £300; and this filled me with those aspiring thoughts which have since so completed my ruin.
— from The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

On the plea of intelligence he certainly cannot claim this rank; his intellectual perceptions might even be called mediocre, as his Memoirs amply prove, but he had a gift, a certain knack of catching the exterior qualities of character and reproducing them in a skilful and amusing mode upon the boards.
— from The Comedies of Carlo Goldoni edited with an introduction by Helen Zimmern by Carlo Goldoni

But it is not easy for a woman to get a correct knowledge of the use of all the strange, and sometimes uncouth, terms that you sailors use.”
— from Jack Tier; Or, The Florida Reef by James Fenimore Cooper

In the meantime Diego had gained a considerable knowledge of the language of the Indians, and was profiting by it to question the natives of Cuba; for, although the language was not the same there, it was enough like that of Guanahani to enable him to communicate in it with the Cubans.
— from Diego Pinzon and the Fearful Voyage He Took Into the Unknown Ocean A.D. 1492 by John Russell Coryell

During the lifetime of Muzio's father, who was an amateur antiquary, Siccio had gained a considerable knowledge of the history of the rains around Rome by attending him in his researches.
— from Rule of the Monk; Or, Rome in the Nineteenth Century by Giuseppe Garibaldi

For, after being eighteen months or two years with him, it would be necessary to continue nearly the same time in another office, to get a competent knowledge of the practice.
— from Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Complete by Aaron Burr

Holy Scripture clearly teaches that we can gain a certain knowledge of God from a consideration of the created universe.
— from Grace, Actual and Habitual: A Dogmatic Treatise by Joseph Pohle

The only way to gain a comprehensive knowledge of this interesting subject is by experience and study.
— from Carpentry and Woodwork by Edwin W. Foster

The late Dr. Duff, in urging the importance of a thorough understanding of the systems which a missionary expects to encounter, illustrated his point by a reference to the great Akbar, who before entering upon the conquest of India, twice visited the country in disguise, that he might gain a complete knowledge of its topography, its strongholds, and its points of weakness, and the best methods of attack.
— from Oriental Religions and Christianity A Course of Lectures Delivered on the Ely Foundation Before the Students of Union Theological Seminary, New York, 1891 by Frank F. (Frank Field) Ellinwood