Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ross, Sir James Clark

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Sir James Clark, 1800–1862, British polar explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he accompanied his uncle, Sir John Ross, in search of the Northwest Passage and commanded the Erebus. He later stud...

Irving, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Irving, Sir Henry, 1838–1905, English actor and theatrical manager, originally named John Henry Brodribb. He made his debut in 1856 and achieved fame in 1871 with his portrayal of Mathias in Leopold...

Fauré, Gabriel Urbain

(Encyclopedia)Fauré, Gabriel Urbain gäbrēĕlˈ ürbăNˈ fōrāˈ [key], 1845–1924, French composer; pupil of Saint-Saëns. In 1896 he succeeded Massenet as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory, ...

Hodgkin, Sir Alan Lloyd

(Encyclopedia)Hodgkin, Sir Alan Lloyd, 1914–98, English biophysicist. For their work in analyzing the electrical and chemical events in nerve-cell discharge, he and Andrew Huxley shared with Sir John Eccles the 1...

Forbes-Robertson, Sir Johnston

(Encyclopedia)Forbes-Robertson, Sir Johnston, 1853–1937, English actor-manager. He was trained by Samuel Phelps, made his first appearance in 1874, and thereafter performed with the Bancrofts (1878), John Hare, a...

Appleton, Sir Edward Victor

(Encyclopedia)Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892–1965, English physicist, grad. St. John's College, Cambridge. After returning from active service in World War I, he became assistant demonstrator in experimental p...

Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard, 1818–96, Canadian political leader, b. New Brunswick. He was active in provincial politics and led the government from 1861 to 1865. An advocate of a united Canada, he wa...

Spender, Sir Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Spender, Sir Stephen, 1909–95, English poet and critic, b. London. His early poetry—like that of W. H. Auden, C. Day Lewis, and Louis MacNeice, with whom he became associated at Oxford—was inspi...

Bannister, Sir Roger Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Bannister, Sir Roger Gilbert, 1929–2018, British athlete and neurologist. On May 6, 1954, at Oxford's Iffley Road track, Bannister, a medical student, became the first man to run the mile in less th...

Browse by Subject