Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Page, William

(Encyclopedia)Page, William, 1811–85, American historical and portrait painter, b. Albany, N.Y., studied with S. F. B. Morse and at the National Academy of Design. Among his best-known works are Farragut's Triump...

Osborne, Thomas Mott

(Encyclopedia)Osborne, Thomas Mott, 1859–1926, American prison reformer, b. Auburn, N.Y., grad. Harvard, 1884. As chairman (1913) of the state commission on prison reform he became a voluntary prisoner in the Aub...

Krebs, Sir Hans Adolf

(Encyclopedia)Krebs, Sir Hans Adolf krĕbz, krĕps [key], 1900–1981, English biochemist, b. Germany, M.D. Univ. of Hamburg, 1925. He taught at Cambridge and at the Univ. of Sheffield and after 1954 was professor ...

Matagorda Bay

(Encyclopedia)Matagorda Bay mătəgôrˈdə [key], inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, c.50 mi (80 km) long and from 3 to 12 mi (4.8–19 km) wide, SE Tex., protected by a long sandspit, Matagorda Peninsula. It receives t...

Ken, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Ken, Thomas, 1637–1711, English prelate and hymn writer, prominent among the nonjuring bishops. He became chaplain to Charles II in 1680 and was nominated by that monarch to the bishopric of Bath an...

Arnold, Henry Harley

(Encyclopedia)Arnold, Henry Harley, 1886–1950, American general, chief of the U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–46), known as “Hap” Arnold, B. Gladwyne, Pa., grad. West Point, 1907. Assigned (1911) to the aviation...

Poinsett, Joel Roberts

(Encyclopedia)Poinsett, Joel Roberts poinˈsĕt [key], 1779–1851, American diplomat and politician, b. Charleston, S.C. In 1810 he was sent as a special commissioner to South America to investigate political cond...

bushrangers

(Encyclopedia)bushrangers, bandits who terrorized the bush country of Australia in the 19th cent. The first bushrangers (c.1806–44) were mainly escaped convicts who fled to the bush and organized gangs. Their cri...

Ward, Lester Frank

(Encyclopedia)Ward, Lester Frank, 1841–1913, American sociologist and paleontologist, b. Joliet, Ill. Largely self-educated, he eventually took degrees in medicine and law. He worked as a government geologist and...

Wheatstone, Sir Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wheatstone, Sir Charles hwētˈstōn, –stən [key], 1802–75, English physicist and inventor. He was professor at King's College, London, from 1834. A pioneer in telegraphy, he was coinventor with ...