Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Spargo, John

(Encyclopedia)Spargo, John spärˈgō [key], 1876–1966, American reformer and author, b. Cornwall, England. An early socialist, he was active in the Socialist party of the United States but resigned in 1917 becau...

Phillips Academy

(Encyclopedia)Phillips Academy, at Andover, Mass.; college preparatory boarding and day school; opened 1778, chartered 1780 by Samuel Phillips. Founded for boys, it is the oldest incorporated academy in the United ...

Cooper, Myles

(Encyclopedia)Cooper, Myles, 1737?–1785, 2d president of King's College (now Columbia Univ.), b. England, educated at Oxford. He was ordained a priest in 1761 and went to King's College (1762) as professor of mor...

epitaph

(Encyclopedia)epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. In England epit...

Horsham

(Encyclopedia)Horsham hôrˈshəm [key], town and district, West Sussex, SE England. Horsham is known prima...

Mycenae

(Encyclopedia)Mycenae mīsēˈnē [key], ancient city of Greece, in Argolis. In historical times it had little importance and was usually dependent on Argos. Its significance is in its remote past as a center of My...

Mostel, Zero

(Encyclopedia)Mostel, Zero mŏsˌtĕlˈ [key], 1915–77, American actor, b. New York City as Samuel Joel Mostel. Mostel made his Broadway debut in Keep 'Em Laughing (1942). A comic actor with an expressive face, h...

Morse, Jedidiah

(Encyclopedia)Morse, Jedidiah, 1761–1826, American Congregational clergyman, b. Woodstock, Conn., grad. Yale, 1783. Licensed to preach in 1785, he taught and preached in various places before becoming (1789) mini...

Nunn, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Nunn, Sam (Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr.), 1938–, U.S. Senator from Georgia (1973–97), b. Perry, Ga. A lawyer, he was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1968–72) and won election as a...

Browse by Subject