Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Morton, John, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Morton, John, c.1724–1777, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Chester co., Pa. He was a member of the Pennsylvania assembly (1756–66, 1769�...

Homestead Act

(Encyclopedia)Homestead Act, 1862, passed by the U.S. Congress. It provided for the transfer of 160 acres (65 hectares) of unoccupied public land to each homesteader on payment of a nominal fee after five years of ...

Stone, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Thomas, 1743–87, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Charles co., Md. A lawyer, he was (1775–78) a delegate to the Continental Congres...

De Predis, Ambrogio

(Encyclopedia)De Predis, Ambrogio ämbrōˈjō dā prāˈdēs [key] c.1455–c.1506, Milanese painter. He worked under Leonardo da Vinci and copied many of his paintings. He also executed several portraits of the S...

Westphalia

(Encyclopedia)Westphalia wĕstfālˈyə [key], Ger. Westfalen, region and former province of Prussia, W Germany. Münster was the capital of the province. After 1945 the province was incorporated into the West Germ...

Roth, Frederick George Richard

(Encyclopedia)Roth, Frederick George Richard, 1872–1944, American animal sculptor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., educated at Bremen, Germany, and studied art in Vienna and Berlin. His elephants, dogs, and horses, whether in...

Bocskay, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Bocskay, Stephen bôchˈkī [key], 1557–1606, Hungarian noble, voivode [governor] (1604–6) and prince (1605–6) of Transylvania. Seeking to secure the independence of Transylvania, he supported h...

Faber, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Faber, Johannes yōhäˈnəs fäˈbər [key], 1478–1541, German churchman. His German surname was Heigerlin. He was a Dominican. After 1531 he was bishop of Vienna. Faber was friendly at first (unti...

Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England. Morris emigrated to Ameri...

Gombrich, E. H.

(Encyclopedia)Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich), 1909–2001, British art historian and scholar, b. Vienna, grad. Univ. of Vienna (1933). From a culturally prominent Austrian-Jewish family, he fled German...