Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Birkhoff, George David

(Encyclopedia)Birkhoff, George David, 1884–1944, American mathematician, b. Overisel, Mich.; father of Garrett Birkhoff. The son of a physician, he was educated at Harvard (B.A., 1905) and the Univ. of Chicago (P...

Yeardley, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Yeardley, Sir George yärdˈlē [key], c.1587–1627, British colonial governor of Virginia (1618–21, 1626–27). He was shipwrecked (1609) in the Bermudas but managed to reach Virginia in 1610. In ...

Barnard, George Grey

(Encyclopedia)Barnard, George Grey, 1863–1938, American sculptor, b. Bellefonte, Pa. He studied engraving, then sculpture, first at the Art Institute of Chicago, then at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. A strong...

Scott, George C.

(Encyclopedia)Scott, George C. (George Campbell Scott), 1927–99, American actor, b. Wise, Va. Fiery and intense, Scott played his first major roles in Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and As You Like It for t...

Scranton, George Whitefield

(Encyclopedia)Scranton, George Whitefield, 1811–61, American manufacturer, b. Madison, Conn. With his brother Selden he bought (1839) the lease and stock of the ironworks of Oxford Furnace, near Washington, N.J. ...

Saint George's Channel

(Encyclopedia)Saint George's Channel, strait, c.100 mi (160 km) long and 50 to 95 mi (80–153 km) wide, linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. It separates SE Ireland from Wales. ...

Shaw, George Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, George Bernard, 1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy pref...

Romney, George Wilcken

(Encyclopedia)Romney, George Wilcken rŏmˈnē [key], 1907–95, U.S. public official, b. Mexico, of American parents. He worked (1920–30) as a Senate staff tariff specialist and then entered industry. He became ...

Rooke, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Rooke, Sir George ro͝ok [key], 1650–1709, English admiral. In the War of the Grand Alliance he defeated a French fleet under the comte de Tourville in the battle of La Hogue (1692) and by good judg...

Browse by Subject