Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Stewart, Dugald

(Encyclopedia)Stewart, Dugald, 1753–1828, Scottish philosopher. He studied at the Univ. of Edinburgh, later becoming professor of mathematics (1775–85) and of moral philosophy (1785–1810). After retiring he d...

Vaughan Williams, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872–1958, English composer, considered the outstanding composer of his generation in England. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1894 and studied composition ...

Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Kildare, Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th earl of, 1513–37, Irish nobleman, called Silken Thomas. When his father, the 9th earl and lord deputy of Ireland, was summoned to London on charges of maladministrat...

Huxley, Sir Julian Sorell

(Encyclopedia)Huxley, Sir Julian Sorell, 1887–1975, English biologist and writer, educated at Oxford; grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, brother of Aldous Huxley, and half-brother of Sir Andrew Huxley. He taught at...

Beerbohm, Sir Max

(Encyclopedia)Beerbohm, Sir Max bērˈbōm [key], 1872–1956, English essayist, caricaturist, and parodist. He contributed to the famous Yellow Book while still an undergraduate at Oxford. In 1898 he succeeded G. ...

Walcott, Derek Alton

(Encyclopedia)Walcott, Derek Alton, 1930–2017, West Indian dramatist and poet, b. Castries, St. Lucia, grad. Univ. of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, 1953. His grandfathers were both white, one of English, the ot...

Adams, John, 2d President of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John, 1735–1826, 2d President of the United States (1797–1801), b. Quincy (then in Braintree), Mass., grad. Harvard, 1755. John Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, founded one of the most di...

diminishing returns, law of

(Encyclopedia)diminishing returns, law of, in economics, law stating that if one factor of production is increased while the others remain constant, the overall returns will relatively decrease after a certain poin...

Compaoré, Blaise

(Encyclopedia)Compaoré, Blaise blāz cŏmpôrˈrā [key], 1951–, Burkinabe military and political leader, president of Burkina Faso (1987–2014), b. Ouagadougou. An army captain and minister of justice under Pr...

Insull, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Insull, Samuel ĭnˈsəl [key], 1859–1938, American public utilities financier, b. London. He arrived in the United States in 1881 and was employed by Thomas A. Edison as a private secretary. He lat...