Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Randolph, Thomas, English poet and dramatist

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Thomas, 1605–35, English poet and dramatist. After graduating from Cambridge in 1632, he went to London where he became a disciple of Ben Jonson. His best-known poems are “A Gratulatory ...

Canfield, Richard Albert

(Encyclopedia)Canfield, Richard Albert, 1855–1914, American gambler, b. New Bedford, Mass. A well-known gambling operator in Providence, R.I., Canfield went in the 1880s to New York, where his gambling establishm...

polonaise

(Encyclopedia)polonaise pŏlˌənāzˈ, ōˌ– [key], Polish national dance, in moderate 3–4 time and of slow, stately movements. It evolved from peasant and court processions and ceremonies of the late 16th cen...

military law

(Encyclopedia)military law, system of rules established for the government of persons in the armed forces. In most countries the legislature establishes the code of military law. It is distinguished from both marti...

Crump, Edward Hull

(Encyclopedia)Crump, Edward Hull, 1876–1954, American politician, Democratic boss of Tennessee, b. near Holly Springs, Miss. At first (1905–9) a municipal administrator in Memphis, Tenn., he was later mayor (19...

Ferber, Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Ferber, Herbert, 1906–91, American sculptor, b. New York City, grad. Columbia (D.D.S., 1930). His original name was Herbert Ferber Silvers. Turning from early massive figures in wood and stone, he d...

Hattiesburg

(Encyclopedia)Hattiesburg, city (2020 pop. 48,730), seat of Forrest co., SE Miss., on the Leaf River; inc. 1884. It is the rail, trade, and industrial center of a far...

Hare, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Hare, Sir John, 1844–1921, English actor-manager, whose original name was John Fairs. From 1856 to 1874 he was a prominent actor with the Bancrofts' company in the plays of Tom Robertson. He managed...

García Icazbalceta, Joaquín

(Encyclopedia)García Icazbalceta, Joaquín hwäkēnˈ gärsēˈä ēkäsbälsāˈtä [key], 1824–94, Mexican philologist, bibliographer, and historian. He edited the works of many early Mexican writers, compiled...

Fleming, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Fleming, Sir Alexander, 1881–1955, Scottish bacteriologist, discoverer of penicillin (1928) and lysozyme (1922), an antibacterial substance found in saliva and other body secretions. Educated at St....