Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Stokes, Sir George Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Stokes, Sir George Gabriel, 1819–1903, British mathematician and physicist, b. Ireland, studied at Cambridge. From 1849 he was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge; he served as secretary (1854�...

Princip, Gavrilo

(Encyclopedia)Princip, Gavrilo gävˈrēlō prēnˈtsēp [key], 1895–1918, Serbian political agitator, b. Bosnia. As a high-school student and a member of the Serbian nationalist secret society Union or Death (kn...

abolitionists

(Encyclopedia)abolitionists, in U.S. history, particularly in the three decades before the Civil War, members of the movement that agitated for the compulsory emancipation of the slaves. Abolitionists are distingui...

Dunbar, William, American scientist

(Encyclopedia)Dunbar, William, 1749–1810, American scientist in the old Southwest, b. near Elgin, Scotland. He came to America in 1771. Commissioned by President Jefferson to investigate the Ouachita and Red Rive...

Commons, John Rogers

(Encyclopedia)Commons, John Rogers, 1862–1945, American economist, b. Hollansburg, Ohio, grad. Oberlin, 1888. Influenced by the other social sciences, Commons tried to broaden the scope of economics, especially i...

Christian Endeavor

(Encyclopedia)Christian Endeavor, association in evangelical Protestant Churches for strengthening spiritual life and promoting Christian activities among its members. The first Young People's Society of Christian ...

Coffin, Levi

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Levi, 1798–1877, American abolitionist, b. North Carolina. In 1826 he moved to the Quaker settlement of Newport (now Fountain City), Ind., where he kept a store until 1847. His home became a...

Gurney, A. R.

(Encyclopedia)Gurney, A. R. (Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr.), 1930–2017, American dramatist, b. Buffalo, N.Y., B.A. Williams College, 1952, M.F.A. Yale School of Drama, 1958. He is best known for often humorous anal...

Johnston, Alexander Keith

(Encyclopedia)Johnston, Alexander Keith, 1804–71, Scottish cartographer and geographer royal of Scotland. He issued many notable atlases, maps, and gazetteers, including The National Atlas of Historical, Commerci...

Moivre, Abraham de

(Encyclopedia)Moivre, Abraham de äbrä-ämˈdə mwäˈvrə [key], 1667–1754, French-English mathematician. He fled to England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was called upon by the Royal Society ...