Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

gray matter

(Encyclopedia)gray matter: see nervous system. ...

Gray's Inn

(Encyclopedia)Gray's Inn: see Inns of Court.

Davis, Al

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Al (Allen Davis), 1929–2011, American football executive, b. Brockton, Mass. After coaching mainly college teams in the 1950s, he was (1960–62) a coach with the Los Angeles, then San Diego,...

Davis, Bette

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Bette bĕtˈē [key], 1908–89, American film actress, b. Lowell, Mass., as Ruth Elizabeth Davis. One of the most durable stars of the American screen, she made her debut in 1931. With a strik...

Davis, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Chuck (Charles Rudolph Davis), 1937–2017), American dancer, choreographer, and proponent of African dance, b. Raleigh, N.C. After serving in the navy, Davis studied with Martha Graham, Alvin ...

Davis, David

(Encyclopedia)Davis, David, 1815–86, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1862–77), b. Cecil co., Md., grad. Kenyon College, 1832; cousin of Henry Winter Davis. In 1836 he settled as a ...

Davis, Elmer

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Elmer, 1890–1958, American newspaperman, radio commentator, and author, b. Aurora, Ind. Davis was a Rhodes scholar (1910–13) at Oxford. For 10 years (1914–24) he was on the staff of the N...

Davis, Jefferson

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Jefferson, 1808–89, American statesman, President of the Southern Confederacy, b. Fairview, near Elkton, Ky. His birthday was June 3. Davis took little part in the secession movement until ...

Davis, John

(Encyclopedia)Davis or Davys, John, 1550?–1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest Passage in 1585, continuing the work of Martin Frobisher. On this voyage he discovered Cumber...

Davis, Lydia

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Lydia, 1947–, American writer known for innovative, very short stories, b. Northampton, Mass., studied Barnard College. Davis earned early praise for her translations from the French and has ...

Browse by Subject