Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Elyot, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Elyot, Sir Thomas ĕlˈyət, ĕlˈēət [key], c.1490–1546, English author. He wrote the earliest Latin-English dictionary (1538) and is remembered especially for his sensible and well-written treat...

Fowler, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fowler, Sir John, 1817–98, English engineer. With Benjamin Baker, he designed and built the Forth Bridge (1882–90) in Scotland, the first major structure made of steel. He also designed much of th...

Francis, Sir Philip

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Sir Philip, 1740–1818, British statesman and pamphleteer. He may have been the author known as Junius. He held several minor posts in government offices before being appointed to the counci...

Frankland, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Frankland, Sir Edward, 1825–99, English chemist. He studied under Bunsen and Liebig and taught at several English institutions. In working on the synthesis and isolation of compounds he evolved the ...

Franklin, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Sir John, 1786–1847, British explorer in N Canada whose disappearance caused a widespread search of the Arctic. Entering the navy in 1801, he fought in the battle of Trafalgar. On his firs...

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...

Hoyle, Sir Fred

(Encyclopedia)Hoyle, Sir Fred hoil [key], 1915–2001, British astrophysicist and mathematician, b. Bingley, Yorkshire. During the years of World War II, Hoyle primarily worked on technical problems related to rada...

Huggins, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Huggins, Sir William, 1824–1910, English astronomer. Using a spectroscope, he began to study the chemical constitution of stars from the observatory attached to his home in Tulse Hill, London. He pr...

Howard, Sir Ebenezer

(Encyclopedia)Howard, Sir Ebenezer, 1850–1928, English town planner, principal founder of the English garden-city movement. His To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform (1898), reissued as Garden Cities of To-mo...

Helps, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Helps, Sir Arthur, 1813–75, English historian and author. His works include Friends in Council (3 series, 1847–59), dialogues on social and intellectual subjects; The Spanish Conquest in America (...