Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

406 results found

Laffite, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Laffite, Jean zhäN läfētˈ [key], c.1780–1826?, leader of a band of privateers and smugglers. The name is often spelled Lafitte. He and his men began operating (1810) off the Baratarian coast S o...

Michael the Brave

(Encyclopedia)Michael the Brave, d. 1601, prince of Walachia (1593–1601), of Transylvania (1599–1600), and of Moldavia (1600). Michael was one of Romania's greatest medieval rulers, as well as a celebrated mili...

Frick, Henry Clay

(Encyclopedia)Frick, Henry Clay, 1849–1919, American industrialist, b. Westmoreland co., Pa. He worked on his father's farm, was a store clerk, and did bookkeeping before he and several associates organized (1871...

Crockett, Davy

(Encyclopedia)Crockett, Davy (David Crockett) krŏkˈĭt [key], 1786–1836, American frontiersman, b. Limestone, near Greeneville, Tenn. After serving (1813–14) under Andrew Jackson against the Creek in the War ...

Chamberlain, Sir Austen

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlain, Sir Austen (Joseph Austen Chamberlain) chāmˈbərlĭn [key], 1863–1937, British statesman; son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. He entered Parliament as a...

Fermat, Pierre de

(Encyclopedia)Fermat, Pierre de pyĕr də fĕrmäˈ [key], 1601–65, French mathematician. A magistrate whose avocation was mathematics, Fermat is known as a founder of modern number theory and probability theory....

Fessenden, William Pitt

(Encyclopedia)Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806–69, American politician, b. Boscawen, N.H. Admitted (1827) to the bar, he began practice in Portland in 1829 and by 1835 was regarded as one of the leading lawyers of M...

Norwich, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Norwich nôrˈĭj, –ĭch [key], city (1991 pop. 32,664) and district, county seat of Norfolk, E England, on the Wensum River just above its confluence with the Yare. Norwich is a principal city mark...

subtreasury

(Encyclopedia)subtreasury. After President Andrew Jackson vetoed (July 10, 1832) the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, the deposits were removed and placed in state banks that came to be calle...

Tenure of Office Act

(Encyclopedia)Tenure of Office Act, in U.S. history, measure passed on Mar. 2, 1867, by Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson; it forbade the President to remove any federal officeholder appointed by a...