Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Coffin, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Sir Isaac, 1759–1839, British naval officer, b. Boston, Mass. From a loyalist family, he fought for the British in the American Revolution and in the French Revolutionary Wars; at the end of...

Fraunces, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Fraunces, Samuel frônˈsĭs [key], c.1722–95, American innkeeper, proprietor of the historic Fraunces Tavern in New York City. This building at the corner of Broad and Pearl streets was the De Lanc...

Freneau, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Freneau, Philip frēnōˈ [key], 1752–1832, American poet and journalist, b. New York City, grad. Princeton, 1771. During the American Revolution he served as soldier and privateer. His experiences ...

Johnson, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Sir John, 1742–1830, Loyalist leader in the American Revolution, b. Mohawk valley, N.Y.; son of Sir William Johnson. He fought against the Native Americans in Pontiac's Conspiracy and was o...

Jumel Mansion

(Encyclopedia)Jumel Mansion jo͞omĕlˈ, zho͞o– [key], historic house, New York City. The sturdy Georgian mansion was completed in 1766 by Roger Morris, one of the city's wealthy merchants. In the American Revol...

Morris, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Roger, 1727–94, Loyalist in the American Revolution, b. Yorkshire, England. He came (1755) to America as aide-de-camp to Gen. Edward Braddock and fought under James Wolfe at Quebec. After hi...

Lincoln, Levi

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln, Levi, 1749–1820, American public official, b. Hingham, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1772. A lawyer, he held various local offices during the American Revolution and later became a Jeffersonian pol...

Lee, Francis Lightfoot

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 1734–97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur, Richard H., and William Lee. Whi...

Carleton, Guy, 1st Baron Dorchester

(Encyclopedia)Carleton, Guy, 1st Baron Dorchester, 1724–1808, governor of Quebec and British commander during the American Revolution. He began his service in America in 1758 and distinguished himself in the Fren...

Bailyn, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Bailyn, Bernard bāˈlĭn [key], 1922–2020, U.S. historian, b. Hartford, Conn. After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard (1953), he taught U.S. colonial history there, becoming a full professor in 1961...

Browse by Subject