Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Belknap, William Worth

(Encyclopedia)Belknap, William Worth, 1829–90, U.S. Secretary of War (1869–76), b. Newburgh, N.Y. After practicing law in Iowa, he served in the Civil War, was a division commander under Sherman in Georgia and ...

Schwerin, Kurt Christoph, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Schwerin, Kurt Christoph, Graf von ko͝ort krĭsˈtôf gräf fən shvārēnˈ [key], 1684–1757, Prussian field marshal. He was one of the most brilliant lieutenants of King Frederick II of Prussia i...

Spaulding, Elbridge Gerry

(Encyclopedia)Spaulding, Elbridge Gerry, 1809–97, U.S. banker and politician, b. Locke (now Summer Hill), N.Y. A lawyer practicing in Buffalo, N.Y., after 1834, he gradually became a banker there and was active i...

Badoglio, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Badoglio, Pietro pyāˈtrō bädôˈlyō [key], 1871–1956, Italian soldier and public official. After serving in World War I, he was governor of Libya (1929–33) and succeeded Gen. Emilio de Bono a...

Vernon, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Vernon, Edward, 1684–1757, British admiral. He entered the navy in 1700 and rose steadily in rank. A member of Parliament from 1722, he opposed the government of Sir Robert Walpole and urged war wit...

Yankee

(Encyclopedia)Yankee, term used by Americans generally in reference to a native of New England and by non-Americans, especially the British, in reference to an American of any section. The word is most likely from ...

Hoffmann, Max

(Encyclopedia)Hoffmann, Max, 1869–1927, German general in World War I. A brilliant strategist, he contributed to the German victory over the Russians at Tannenberg and in 1916 became chief of staff of the eastern...

Balls Bluff

(Encyclopedia)Balls Bluff, hill on the south bank of the Potomac River, near Leesburg, Va. In the Civil War, Union troops who had crossed the river were severely repulsed there on Oct. 21, 1861. Dissatisfaction wit...

Dresden

(Encyclopedia)Dresden drĕzˈdən [key], city, capital of Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. It ...

Howell, John Adams

(Encyclopedia)Howell, John Adams, 1840–1918, American naval officer and inventor, b. Bath, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1858. He served as a lieutenant throughout the Civil War, fighting under Admiral Farragut at Mobil...