Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Negroponte, John Dimitri

(Encyclopedia)Negroponte, John Dimitri, 1939–, U.S. public official, b. London, England. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1960, and during his long diplomatic career was posted to Asia, Europe, Latin America...

Thomson, Sir George Paget

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, Sir George Paget, 1892–1975, English physicist; son of Sir Joseph John Thomson. He was professor of natural philosophy at the Univ. of Aberdeen (1922–30) and from 1930 to 1952 was profess...

Jay, John

(Encyclopedia)Jay, John, 1745–1829, American statesman, 1st chief justice of the United States, b. New York City, grad. King's College (now Columbia Univ.), 1764. He was admitted (1768) to the bar and for a time ...

Compton, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Compton, Sir John (John George Melvin Compton), 1925–2007, St. Lucian political leader, b. Canouan, Windward Islands (now in St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Compton attended high school in St. Luci...

St. John, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)St. John, Oliver sĭnˈjən [key], 1598?–1673, English politician. He married (1638) a cousin of Oliver Cromwell. In 1637–38 he was, by his brilliant defense of John Hampden in the ship money case...

Eyre, Edward John

(Encyclopedia)Eyre, Edward John âr [key], 1815–1901, British colonial administrator. In Australia (1833–45) he was a magistrate, explorer, and writer on Australian geography, and had a reputation for sympathy ...

Soane, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Soane, Sir John sōn [key], 1753–1837, English architect. After studying with George Dance, the younger, Soane won a fellowship to Rome. He toured Italy and returned in 1780 to begin his practice in...

McClellan, George Brinton

(Encyclopedia)McClellan, George Brinton, 1826–85, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Philadelphia. After graduating (1846) from West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War and later worked ...

Adams, Abigail

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Abigail, 1744–1818, wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams, b. Weymouth, Mass., as Abigail Smith. A lively, intelligent woman, she married John Adams in 1764 a...

Browse by Subject