Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ramey, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Ramey, Samuel, 1942–, American operatic bass, b. Colby, Kans. He studied music at Kansas State and Wichita State (grad. 1968) universities and debuted with the New York City Opera in Bizet's Carmen ...

Richardson, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Samuel, 1689–1761, English novelist, b. Derbyshire. When he was 50 and a prosperous printer, Richardson was asked to compose a guide to letter writing. The idea of introducing a central ...

Peters, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Peters, Samuel, 1735–1826, American clergyman and historian, b. Hebron, Conn. Because of his Loyalist sympathies, he fled to England in 1774. There he wrote for English periodicals and published A G...

Vetch, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Vetch, Samuel, 1668–1732, British soldier and colonial administrator, b. Scotland. He settled in Albany, N.Y., in 1699 and became a trader with the Native Americans. Author of a plan to capture Fren...

Lexington and Concord, battles of

(Encyclopedia)Lexington and Concord, battles of, opening engagements of the American Revolution, Apr. 19, 1775. After the passage (1774) of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament, unrest in the colonies inc...

Delany, Samuel R.

(Encyclopedia)Delany, Samuel R. (Samuel Ray Delany, Jr.), 1942–, African-American wrtier, b. Harlem, New York City. Delany uses science fiction, fantasy, and memoir to explore sexual identity, race, language, and...

Doe, Samuel Kanyon

(Encyclopedia)Doe, Samuel Kanyon, 1951–90, Liberian military ruler (1980–90). Doe joined the army after the 11th grade, and rose to master sergeant. In 1980 Doe led a group of rebels in a successful coup. Presi...

Driver, Samuel Rolles

(Encyclopedia)Driver, Samuel Rolles, 1846–1914, English clergyman and biblical scholar. He was regius professor of Hebrew and canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and from 1876 to 1884 was a member of the Old Testamen...

Cox, Samuel Sullivan

(Encyclopedia)Cox, Samuel Sullivan, 1824–89, American statesman and legislator, b. Zanesville, Ohio. He traveled widely, practiced law, and was a newspaper editor before serving (1857–65) as a Congressman from ...

Cunard, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Cunard, Sir Samuel kyo͞onärdˈ [key], 1787–1865, Canadian pioneer of regular transatlantic steam navigation, b. Halifax, N.S. The son of a United Empire Loyalist, he became a leading businessman o...