Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Williams, William, American painter

(Encyclopedia)Williams, William, c.1710–c.1790, American painter, b. England. He probably led a seafaring life before settling (c.1747) in Philadelphia, where he was Benjamin West's first instructor in painting. ...

Wilson, James, American jurist

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, James, 1742–98, American jurist, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near St. Andrews, Scotland. He studied at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and, after emigrating to Pe...

Adams, John, American composer

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John (John Coolidge Adams), 1947–, American composer, b. Worcester, Mass. A clarinetist, he studied composition at Harvard (B.A. 1969, M.A. 1971). Often regarded as the most outstanding, tech...

Campbell, Thomas, American clergyman

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, Thomas, 1763–1854, American clergyman, a founder of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). See Campbell, Alexander, his more famous son. ...

Weber, Max, American painter

(Encyclopedia)Weber, Max wĕbˈər [key], 1881–1961, American painter, b. Russia. At 10 he accompanied his family to Brooklyn, N.Y. He studied art at Pratt Institute and in 1905 went abroad. In Paris he studied u...

Gruevski, Nikola

(Encyclopedia)Gruevski, Nikola, 1970–, Macedonian political leader. An economist, he worked for the Balkan Bank (1995–98), then served as trade minister (1999) and finance minister (1999–2002) under Prime Min...

Banharn Silpa-archa

(Encyclopedia)Banharn Silpa-archa, 1932–2016, Thai businessman and political leader. Born into a family of ethnic Chinese traders, he grew wealthy during the 1960s economic boom and became a political power broke...

Macon, Nathaniel

(Encyclopedia)Macon, Nathaniel māˈkən [key], 1758–1837, American political leader, b. near the present Warrenton, N.C. He served in the American Revolution and later became a political figure in North Carolina...

Jackson, Jesse Louis

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Jesse Louis, 1941–, African-American political leader, clergyman, and civil-rights activist, b. Greenville, S.C. Raised in poverty, he attended the Chicago Theological Seminary (1963–65) ...

Christie, Perry Gladstone

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Perry Gladstone, 1943–, Bahamian political leader. A member of the Progressive Liberal party, he practiced law for several years before serving (1977–2017; as an independent from 1987 to...