Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Erskine, John, 1509–91, Scottish reformer

(Encyclopedia)Erskine, John, 1509–91, Scottish reformer, called Erskine of Dun. After several years on the Continent he returned to Scotland, where he introduced the study of Greek in Scottish schools. He was the...

Thomson, James , 1700–1748, Scottish poet

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, James, 1700–1748, Scottish poet. Educated at Edinburgh, he went to London, took a post as tutor, and became acquainted with such literary celebrities as Gay, Arbuthnot, and Pope. His most f...

Brown, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist and botanical explorer. In 1801 he went as a naturalist on one of Matthew Flinders's expeditions to Australia, returning (1805) to England with valuable c...

Starling, Ernest Henry

(Encyclopedia)Starling, Ernest Henry, 1866–1927, English physiologist, b. India. He was professor (1899–1923) at University College, London. He was an authority on heart action and circulation. With Sir William...

William III, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)William III, 1650–1702, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702); son of William II, prince of Orange, stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and of Mary, oldest daughte...

Kant, Immanuel

(Encyclopedia)Kant, Immanuel ĭmänˈo͞oĕl känt [key], 1724–1804, German metaphysician, one of the greatest figures in philosophy, b. Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The impact of Kant's work has be...

James II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)James II, 1430–60, king of Scotland (1437–60), son and successor of James I. During his minority successive earls of Douglas vied for power with factions led by Sir William Crichton and Sir Alexan...

Bax, Ernest Belfort

(Encyclopedia)Bax, Ernest Belfort, 1854–1926, English socialist philosopher. He studied music and philosophy in Germany. In England, influenced by Marxist and other radical thought, he became active in socialist ...

Edgar Atheling

(Encyclopedia)Edgar Atheling ăthˈəlĭng [key] [O.E. ætheling,=son of the king], 1060?–1125?, English prince, grandson of Edmund Ironside. After the death of King Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066, Edga...

Rae, John

(Encyclopedia)Rae, John, 1813–93, Scottish arctic explorer, b. Orkney Islands. A physician in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company in N Canada, Rae made (1846–47) a journey of exploration from Fort Churchill ...