Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Clark, William

(Encyclopedia)Clark, William, 1770–1838, American explorer, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark expedition, b. Caroline co., Va.; brother of George Rogers Clark. He was an army officer (1792–96), serving ...

Chillingworth, William

(Encyclopedia)Chillingworth, William, 1602–44, English theologian. He was converted to Roman Catholicism and in 1630 went to Douai to study. Under the influence of his godfather, William Laud, he abjured that fai...

Charles, William

(Encyclopedia)Charles, William, 1776–1820, American cartoonist, etcher, and engraver, b. Edinburgh, Scotland. He probably came to the United States to avoid prosecution for his satirical drawings. He is best know...

Alabaster, William

(Encyclopedia)Alabaster, William ălˌəbăsˈtər, ălˈəbăsˌtər [key], 1567–1640, English theologian and poet. Although he wrote two epic poems in Latin, he is remembered for his theological studies, includ...

Cobbett, William

(Encyclopedia)Cobbett, William kŏbˈĭt [key], 1763?–1835, British journalist and reformer. The son of a farm laborer, he ran away from home at 14 and later joined the British army. He resigned in order to expos...

Coddington, William

(Encyclopedia)Coddington, William, 1601–78, one of the founders of Rhode Island, probably b. Boston, England. He came to America in 1630 as an officer of the Massachusetts Bay Company and was its treasurer from 1...

Eustis, William

(Encyclopedia)Eustis, William yo͞oˈstĭs [key], 1753–1825, U.S. government official, b. Cambridge, Mass. A surgeon in the patriot forces during the American Revolution, he later served (1801–5) in Congress as...

Empson, William

(Encyclopedia)Empson, William, 1906–84, English critic and poet. His Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930), a study of the meanings of poetry, is a classic of modern literary criticism. It was followed by Some Versions...

Few, William

(Encyclopedia)Few, William, 1748–1828, political leader in the American Revolution, b. near Baltimore. He was raised in North Carolina and was involved in the Regulator movement there. He later moved to Georgia. ...

Falconer, William

(Encyclopedia)Falconer, William fôkˈnər [key], 1732–69, Scottish poet. The victim of a shipwreck off Greece, he described his ordeal in a long, didactic poem, The Shipwreck (1762). He also wrote (1769) a sourc...