Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

106 results found

Hale, Nathan

(Encyclopedia)Hale, Nathan, 1755–76, American soldier, hero of the American Revolution, b. Coventry, Conn. A young schoolteacher when the Revolution broke out, he was commissioned an officer in the Connecticut mi...

Tallmadge, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Tallmadge, Benjamin tălˈmĭj [key], 1754–1835, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Brookhaven, N.Y. Joining a Connecticut regiment, he served throughout the Revolution, fighting at Brandywine, Germ...

Chuuk

(Encyclopedia)Chuuk tro͝ok, trŭk [key], state (1990 est. pop. 48,853), c.39 sq mi (100 sq km), Federated States of Micronesia, W Pacific, in the E Caroline Islands. One of four states comprising the Federated Sta...

Kanton

(Encyclopedia)Kanton kăntŏnˈ, kănˈtŏn [key], coral atoll, 3.5 sq mi (9 sq km), central Pacific, largest of the Phoenix Islands, which comprise part of Kiribati, c.2,000 mi (3,220 km) SE of Honolulu, Hawaii. A...

Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh

(Encyclopedia)Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh, known as Rooney Lee, 1837–91, Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, b. Arlington House, near Alexandria, Va.; son of Robert E. Lee. He entered Harvard i...

Hardee, William Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Hardee, William Joseph, 1815–73, American army officer, Confederate general, b. Camden co., Ga. A graduate of West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War and compiled Rifle and Light I...

Compton, Arthur Holly

(Encyclopedia)Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892–1962, American physicist, b. Wooster, Ohio, grad. College of Wooster (B.S., 1913), Ph.D. Princeton, 1916. He was professor and head of the department of physics at Washin...

Ewell, Benjamin Stoddert

(Encyclopedia)Ewell, Benjamin Stoddert yo͞oˈəl [key], 1810–94, American educator, b. Georgetown, D.C., grad. West Point, 1832; brother of Gen. R. S. Ewell. He taught mathematics at West Point, Hampden-Sidney C...

Tesla, Nikola

(Encyclopedia)Tesla, Nikola tĕsˈlə [key], 1856–1943, American electrician and inventor, b. Croatia (then an Austrian province). An ethnic Serb, he immigrated to the United States in 1884, worked for a short pe...

Wheeler, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Wheeler, Joseph, 1836–1906, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Augusta, Ga. He resigned from the U.S. army in Apr., 1861, to fight for the Confederacy. He commanded a regiment at Shil...

Browse by Subject