Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dexter, Timothy

(Encyclopedia)Dexter, Timothy, 1747–1806, American merchant and eccentric, b. Malden, Mass. He gained a fortune from the American Revolution by buying up depreciated certificates of indebtedness that were afterwa...

Dana, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Francis, 1743–1811, American diplomat, b. Charlestown, Mass. Son of a prominent lawyer, he was himself a lawyer. He went as a colonial agent to England, then served as a delegate to the Massac...

Cunningham, Imogen

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Imogen, 1883–1976, American photographer, b. Portland, Oreg. Cunningham began taking pictures in 1901. After study abroad she opened a studio in Seattle in 1910 and for six decades produ...

Cooke, Jay

(Encyclopedia)Cooke, Jay, 1821–1905, American financier, b. Sandusky, Ohio. He founded Jay Cooke & Company, which marketed the huge Civil War loans of the federal government. He later turned to railroad bonds...

Chausson, Ernest Amédée

(Encyclopedia)Chausson, Ernest Amédée ĕrnĕstˈ ämādāˈ shōsôNˈ [key], 1855–99, French composer. His music reflects the influence of César Franck and also suggests Debussy. Of his songs, perhaps the bes...

Coffin, Henry Sloane

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Henry Sloane, 1877–1954, American Presbyterian clergyman, b. New York City. He was pastor of the Madison Ave. Presbyterian Church in New York City (1905–26), lecturer (1904–9), associate...

Fair Employment Practices Committee

(Encyclopedia)Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), established (1941) within the Office of Production Management by executive order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was created to promote the fulle...

Farnesina

(Encyclopedia)Farnesina färnāzēˈnä [key], villa in Rome, Italy, built (1508–11) by Peruzzi for the banker Agostino Chigi at the foot of the Janiculum on the right bank of the Tiber. One of the finest example...

Hopkins, Mark, American railroad builder and merchant

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Mark, 1813–78, American railroad builder and merchant, b. Henderson, N.Y. A clerk in a village store and later a commission merchant in New York City, he was more than 35 years old when he ...

Browse by Subject