Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Spofford, Ainsworth Rand

(Encyclopedia)Spofford, Ainsworth Rand spŏfˈərd [key], 1825–1908, librarian of Congress of the United States, b. Belknap co., N.H. In 1861 he became chief assistant librarian of Congress and was appointed libr...

Virginia, University of

(Encyclopedia)Virginia, University of, mainly at Charlottesville; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1819, opened 1825 with Thomas Jefferson as its rector. Jefferson also planned the organization and curricu...

Apalachee

(Encyclopedia)Apalachee ăpˌəlăchˈē [key], tribe of Native North Americans once centered about Apalachee Bay, NW Florida, belonging to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native Amer...

passionflower

(Encyclopedia)passionflower, any plant of the genus Passiflora, mostly tropical American vines having pulpy fruits. Some species are grown in greenhouses for their large, unusual flowers of various colors; those se...

Rowan, Andrew Summers

(Encyclopedia)Rowan, Andrew Summers rouˈən [key], 1857–1943, American army officer, b. Monroe co., Va. (now W.Va.). At the outbreak (1898) of the Spanish-American War he was sent to communicate with the Cuban r...

Clipperton Island

(Encyclopedia)Clipperton Island, uninhabited atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, c.800 mi (1,290 km) SW of Mexico. It was used as a base by John Clipperton, an English pirate. The French claimed it ...

Knox, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Knox, Frank (William Franklin Knox), 1874–1944, U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1940–44), b. Boston. He joined the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War and also served in World War I. Knox was gen...

Céspedes, Carlos Manuel de, 1871–1939, president of Cuba

(Encyclopedia)Céspedes, Carlos Manuel de, 1871–1939, president of Cuba (1933), b. New York City; son of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (1819–74). He actively participated in the Revolution of 1895 and the Spanish-...

Pinckney, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pinckney, Thomas, 1750–1828, American political leader and diplomat, b. Charleston, S.C.; brother of C. C. Pinckney and cousin of Charles Pinckney. At the outbreak of the American Revolution he join...

Morrison, Toni

(Encyclopedia)Morrison, Toni, 1931–2019, American writer, b. Lorain, Ohio, as Chloe Ardelia (later Anthony) Wofford; B.A. Howard Univ., 1953, M.F.A. Cornell, 1955. Her fiction is noted for its poetic language, lu...