Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Talbot, William Henry Fox

(Encyclopedia)Talbot, William Henry Fox, 1800–1877, English inventor of photographic processes (see photography, still). A man of enormously versatile intelligence, he invented the “photogenic drawing” proces...

Stanley, Sir Henry Morton

(Encyclopedia)Stanley, Sir Henry Morton, 1841–1904, Anglo-American journalist, explorer, and empire builder, b. Denbigh, Wales. He grew up in poverty and came to America as a worker on a ship, which he jumped (18...

Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley

(Encyclopedia)Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley, 1786–1855, English operatic conductor, composer or arranger of 120 dramatic works. He is known today for a setting of Shakespeare's “Lo, here the gentle lark” and the m...

Buller, Sir Redvers Henry

(Encyclopedia)Buller, Sir Redvers Henry bŭlˈər [key], 1839–1908, British general. His military career began in China, and he later took part in the suppression of the Red River Rebellion (1870) in Canada. In A...

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 1836–1908, British statesman. Entering Parliament (1868) as a Liberal, he served as secretary to the admiralty (1882–84), secretary of state for Ireland (1884), and ...

Whiting, William Henry Chase

(Encyclopedia)Whiting, William Henry Chase, 1825–65, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Biloxi, Miss. He served in the U.S. army until Feb., 1861, when he resigned and entered the Confederate servi...

Iberian Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Iberian Peninsula, c.230,400 sq mi (596,740 sq km), SW Europe, separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees. Comprising Spain and Portugal, it is washed on the N and W by the Atlantic Ocean and o...

Shadwell, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Shadwell, Thomas, 1642?–1692, English dramatist and poet. His plays, written in the tradition of Jonson's comedy of humours, are distinguished for their realistic pictures of London life and for the...

Beckford, William

(Encyclopedia)Beckford, William, 1760–1844, English author. A wealthy dilettante, Beckford had a great desire to ascend to the nobility. Unfortunately his erratic and strange behavior often worked against his amb...

Rideau Canal

(Encyclopedia)Rideau Canal rēdōˈ, rēˈdō [key], 126 mi (203 km) long, S Ont., Canada, connecting the Ottawa River at Ottawa with Lake Ontario at Kingston. The canal, which has 47 locks, follows the course of t...

Browse by Subject