Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Wilkinson, James

(Encyclopedia)Wilkinson, James, 1757–1825, American general and one of the most corrupt and devious officers in the nation's early army, b. Calvert co., Md. Abandoning his medical studies in 1776 to join the army...

Drewry's Bluff

(Encyclopedia)Drewry's Bluff dro͝orˈēz [key], high ground on the southern bank of the James River, E Va., S of Richmond; scene of two engagements in the Civil War. On May 15, 1862, the Confederates, positioned o...

de Blasio, Bill

(Encyclopedia)de Blasio, Bill, 1961–, American politician, b. New York City as Warren Wilhelm, Jr., B.A New York Univ., 1984, M.A. Columbia, 1987. A liberal Democrat, de Blasio worked in the New York City governm...

Charles, archduke of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Charles, 1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however...

Clinton, James

(Encyclopedia)Clinton, James, 1733–1812, American Revolutionary general, b. Orange co., N.Y.; brother of George Clinton and father of De Witt Clinton. He served in the French and Indian Wars and early in the Revo...

Falaise

(Encyclopedia)Falaise fälĕzˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 8,387), Calvados dept., N France, in Normandy. Once an important textile center, the town is now an agricultural marketplace and manufactures cheeses and ...

Hugenberg, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Hugenberg, Alfred älˈfrĕt ho͞oˈgənbĕrkh [key], 1865–1951, German financier and politician. He was president of the directorate of the Krupp firm (1909–18), entered the Reichstag in 1919, an...

Ibarra, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Ibarra, Francisco de fränthēsˈkō ᵺā ēbäˈrä [key], 1539?–1575, Spanish conquistador in Mexico. In 1554, after founding Fresnillo, he headed an expedition to the N of Zacatecas. For the nex...

Gibbon, John

(Encyclopedia)Gibbon, John, 1827–96, Union general in the Civil War, b. near Holmesburg (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. West Point, 1847. Made a brigadier general of volunteers (1862), he fought in the sec...

Gérard, Étienne Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Gérard, Étienne Maurice ātyĕnˈ môrēsˈ zhārärˈ [key], 1773–1852, French army officer. He fought with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and in the Waterloo campai...

Browse by Subject