Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Waddington, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Waddington, William Henry, 1826–94, French statesman and archaeologist, of English descent. Waddington was minister of education (1876–77) and was appointed foreign minister in 1877. He represente...

Wallace, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir William, 1272?–1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the s...

Wallack, James William

(Encyclopedia)Wallack, James William wŏlˈək [key], c.1795–1864, Anglo-American actor and manager. Of a theatrical family, he was a leading actor (1812–32) in both comedy and melodrama at Drury Lane. After 18...

Waller, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Waller, Sir William, 1597–1668, English parliamentary general. He fought (1620–22) in the Thirty Years War and was knighted in 1622. A zealous Puritan, he sat in the Long Parliament (see English c...

Burroughs, William Seward

(Encyclopedia)Burroughs, William Seward, 1914–97, American novelist, b. St. Louis, grad. Harvard, 1936, moved to New York City, 1943. He was an elder member of the beat generation. Junkie (1953), originally publi...

Butler, William Orlando

(Encyclopedia)Butler, William Orlando, 1791–1880, American general and political leader, b. Carrollton, Ky. He served in the War of 1812 and distinguished himself in the battle of New Orleans. He was a Congressma...

Calley, William L.

(Encyclopedia)Calley, William L.: see My Lai incident. ...

Bok, Edward William

(Encyclopedia)Bok, Edward William, 1863–1930, American editor, b. Helder, Netherlands. His family emigrated to the United States in 1870. He founded the Brooklyn Magazine (later Cosmopolitan) in 1883. As editor (...

Bond, William Cranch

(Encyclopedia)Bond, William Cranch, 1789–1859, American astronomer, b. Portland, Maine. He early aided his father in the trades of silversmith and clockmaker in Boston. He soon became an expert in the making of c...

Borah, William Edgar

(Encyclopedia)Borah, William Edgar bôrˈə [key], 1865–1940, U.S. Senator (1907–40), b. near Fairfield, Ill. Admitted to the bar in Kansas in 1887, after 1890 he became prominent in law and politics at Boise, ...