Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bright, John

(Encyclopedia)Bright, John, 1811–89, British statesman and orator. He was the son of a Quaker cotton manufacturer in Lancashire. A founder (1839) of the Anti-Corn Law League, he rose to prominence on the strength...

Welty, Eudora

(Encyclopedia)Welty, Eudora, 1909–2001, American author, b. Jackson, Miss., grad. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1929. One of the important American regional writers of the 20th cent. and one of the finest short-story write...

Dostoyevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Dostoyevsky or Dostoevsky, Feodor Mikhailovich fyôˈdər mēkhīˈləvĭch dəstəyĕfˈskē [key], 1821–81, Russian novelist, one of the towering figures of world literature. Notes from the Unde...

Bull Run

(Encyclopedia)Bull Run, small stream, NE Va., c.30 mi (50 km) SW of Washington, D.C. Two important battles of the Civil War were fought there: the first on July 21, 1861, and the second Aug. 29–30, 1862. Both bat...

Macaulay, Dame Rose

(Encyclopedia)Macaulay, Dame Rose məkôˈlē [key], 1889?–1958, English author. Remembered primarily for her novels satirizing middle-class life, she first achieved fame with Potterism (1920). Her subsequent nov...

macramé

(Encyclopedia)macramé măkˈrəmāˌ [key], a technique of decorative knotting employing simple basic knots to create a multitude of patterns. The term derives from an Arabic word for braided fringe. Its first kno...

Lichnowsky, Karl Max, Fürst von

(Encyclopedia)Lichnowsky, Karl Max, Fürst von kärl mäks fürst fən lĭkhnôfˈskē [key], 1860–1928, German diplomat, ambassador to London (1912–14). In a privately circulated pamphlet (1916) he asserted th...

Henson, Matthew Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Henson, Matthew Alexander, 1866–1965, African-American arctic explorer, b. Charles County, Md. He accompanied Robert E. Peary as personal assistant, dog driver, and interpreter on numerous expeditio...

Hopkins, Esek

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Esek, 1718–1802, American Revolutionary naval hero, b. Scituate, R.I.; brother of Stephen Hopkins. He commanded a privateer in the French and Indian War, and in Dec., 1775, he was appointed...

Hill, Sir Rowland

(Encyclopedia)Hill, Sir Rowland, 1795–1879, English educator, inventor, and postal reformer. He introduced the system of self-government in his school at Hazelwood in Birmingham. In his Plans for the Government a...