Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Harmon, Judson

(Encyclopedia)Harmon, Judson, 1846–1927, U.S. Attorney General and governor of Ohio, b. Newton, Ohio. He was a lawyer and a judge in Cincinnati for many years and served (1895–97) ably as U.S. Attorney General ...

Wilson, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Benjamin, 1721–88, English portrait painter and electrician who opposed Benjamin Franklin's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported Newton's gravitational-opti...

Copernican system

(Encyclopedia)Copernican system, first modern European theory of planetary motion that was heliocentric, i.e., that placed the sun motionless at the center of the solar system with all the planets, including the ea...

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...

George Washington Bridge

(Encyclopedia)George Washington Bridge, vehicular suspension bridge across the Hudson River, between Manhattan borough of New York City and Fort Lee, N.J.; constructed 1927–31. It is one of the longest suspension...

Jouett, Matthew Harris

(Encyclopedia)Jouett, Matthew Harris jōˈət [key], 1787–1827, American painter, b. Mercer co., Ky., studied in Boston with Gilbert Stuart. He was the first prominent painter in the West. Among his more than 300...

Lawes, Sir John Bennet

(Encyclopedia)Lawes, Sir John Bennet, 1814–1900, English agriculturist. He founded the famous experimental farm at Rothamsted, where, with the English chemist Sir J. H. Gilbert, he experimented with plants and an...

Smith, Holland McTyeire

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Holland McTyeire, 1882–1967, American general, b. Seale, Ala. He was commissioned in the marines in 1905 and served in France in World War I. In World War II, Smith pioneered in developing am...

Smith, Hoke

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Hoke, 1855–1931, American political leader, b. Newton, N.C. A successful lawyer in Atlanta, he acquired the Atlanta Journal in 1887. He served (1893–96) in President Cleveland's cabinet as ...

Newcastle-under-Lyme

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle-under-Lyme, city (1991 pop. 73,208) and district, Staffordshire, W central England, on the Lyme River. Construction materials, apparel, computers, electric motors, and machinery are manufact...

Browse by Subject