Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

117 results found

Krzyzewski, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Krzyzewski, Mike (Michael William Krzyzewski) shəshĕvˈskē [key], 1947–, American basketball coach, b. Chicago. He attended West Point (grad. 1969), where he played basketball under Bobby Knight....

pin

(Encyclopedia)pin. One of the earliest human artifacts, pins were at first made of thorns, bone, or wood and were used as clothing fasteners, hairpins, and meat skewers. These long, single-shaft pins were early imi...

Grew, Joseph Clark

(Encyclopedia)Grew, Joseph Clark, 1880–1965, American diplomat, b. Boston. Entering diplomatic service in 1904, he held posts of increasing importance in different capitals until 1924, when he became Under Secret...

Constitution, ship

(Encyclopedia)Constitution, U.S. 44-gun frigate, nicknamed Old Ironsides. It is perhaps the most famous vessel in the history of the U.S. navy. Authorized by Congress in 1794, the ship was launched in 1797 and was ...

Fort Dearborn

(Encyclopedia)Fort Dearborn, U.S. army post on the Chicago River, NE Ill.; est. 1803 and named for Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. Threatened by the indigenous population at the start of the War of 1812, the front...

Kramer, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer), 1921–2009, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. He excelled at tennis while still in high school. Kramer and Frederick (Ted) Schroeder won the U.S. national ...

Black Panthers

(Encyclopedia)Black Panthers, U.S. African-American militant party, founded (1966) in Oakland, Calif., by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Originally aimed at armed self-defense against the local police, the party g...

Kelley, Florence

(Encyclopedia)Kelley, Florence, 1859–1932, American social worker and reformer, b. Philadelphia, grad. Cornell, 1882, and Northwestern Univ. law school, 1894. Married in 1884 to a Polish doctor, Lazare Wishniewes...

Dummer, Jeremiah, 1645–1718, early American silversmith and engraver

(Encyclopedia)Dummer, Jeremiah, 1645–1718, early American silversmith and engraver, b. Newbury, Mass. He was apprenticed (1659) to John Hull and set up as a silversmith in Boston c.1666. He held several public of...

Davies, Joseph Edward

(Encyclopedia)Davies, Joseph Edward dāˈvēz [key], 1876–1958, American diplomat, b. Watertown, Wis. Admitted to the bar in 1901, he was commissioner of corporations (1913–15) and chairman (1915–16) of the F...