Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rhodes, James Ford

(Encyclopedia)Rhodes, James Ford rōdz [key], 1848–1927, American historian, b. Ohio City (now part of Cleveland). While studying in Europe he visited ironworks and steelworks in Germany and Great Britain, and up...

Riley, James Whitcomb

(Encyclopedia)Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849–1916, American poet, b. Greenfield, Ind., known as the Hoosier poet. He was at various times a traveling actor, a sign painter, and a newspaperman. Under the name “Benj...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

Orr, James Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Orr, James Lawrence, 1822–73, American politician, b. Craytonville, S.C. He served in the South Carolina legislature (1844–48) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–59), where he was (1...

Perry, William James

(Encyclopedia)Perry, William James, 1927–, U.S. government official, b. Vandergrift, Pa. A Ph.D. in mathematics, former Stanford engineering professor, and founder of a military electronics firm, he served (1977...

Petrillo, James Caesar

(Encyclopedia)Petrillo, James Caesar pētrĭlˈō, pĭ– [key], 1892–1984, American labor leader, president of the American Federation of Musicians (1940–58), b. Chicago. In 1915 he became president of the Ame...

Freud, Lucian Michael

(Encyclopedia)Freud, Lucian Michael 1922–2011, British painter, b. Berlin. A grandson of Sigmund Freud, he settled in England in 1933 and became a British subject in 1939. He is widely regarded as one of the fine...

Basquiat, Jean-Michel

(Encyclopedia)Basquiat, Jean-Michel bäsˌkē-ätˈ [key], 1960–88, American painter, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Born into a middle-class Haitian and Puerto Rican family, he was a 1980s art star whose rise and fall were r...

Craig, Sir James Henry

(Encyclopedia)Craig, Sir James Henry, 1748–1812, British soldier, governor of Canada (1807–11), b. Gibraltar. He served in the British army from 1763, fighting in the American Revolution and later holding posts...

Creswell, John Angel James

(Encyclopedia)Creswell, John Angel James, 1828–91, U.S. Postmaster General (1869–74), b. Port Deposit, Md. He was a lawyer, U.S. Representative (1863–65), and U.S. Senator (1865–67), but his important work ...

Browse by Subject