Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rush, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Rush, Benjamin, 1745?–1813, American physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Byberry (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton, 1760), M.D. Univ. o...

Thompson, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, Benjamin: see Rumford, Benjamin Thompson, Count. ...

Tillett, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Tillett, Benjamin tĭlˈĭt [key], 1860–1943, English labor organizer, b. Bristol, England. With Tom Mann and John Burns, he led the dock strike of 1889, the first big step toward industrial unionis...

Banneker, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Banneker, Benjamin, 1731–1806, African-American inventor, astronomer, and mathematician, b. Baltimore co., Md., at what is now Ellicott's Mills. A free black, Banneker was essentially self-taught. H...

Singleton, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Singleton, Benjamin, c. 1809–c. 1900, African-American leader of post–Civil War black resettlement in the West, b. Davidson co. (now coextensive with Nashville), Tenn. He escaped slavery in 1846, ...

Silliman, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Silliman, Benjamin, 1779–1864, American chemist, geologist, and physicist, b. Trumbull, Conn., grad. Yale, 1796. In 1802 he was appointed first professor of chemistry and natural history at Yale; he...

Stoddert, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751–1813, U.S. government official, b. Charles County, Md. Joining the Continental Army as a captain at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he attained the rank of major. A ...

Davis, Henry Winter

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Henry Winter, 1817–65, American political leader, b. Annapolis, Md. He was elected (1854) to the House of Representatives on the Know-Nothing ticket and was twice reelected (1856, 1858) with ...

Harrison, Benjamin, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Benjamin, 1726?–1791, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Charles City co., Va. As a member (1749–75) of the house of burgesses, he...

Davis, Benjamin Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Benjamin Oliver, 1877–1970, American general, b. Washington, D.C. After studying (1897–98) at Howard Univ., Davis served as a lieutenant in the Spanish-American War and in 1899 enlisted in ...