Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

397 results found

Opper, Frederick Burr

(Encyclopedia)Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857–1937, American cartoonist and illustrator, b. Madison, Ohio. He began as a contributor to comic papers and was associated with Frank Leslie's publications for three years...

Fulbright, James William

(Encyclopedia)Fulbright, James William, 1905–95, U.S. Senator from Arkansas (1945–75), b. Sumner, Mo. A Rhodes scholar, he was admitted (1934) to the bar and served (1934–35) in the antitrust division of the ...

Croker, John Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Croker, John Wilson krōˈkər [key], 1780–1857, British Tory politician and author, b. Ireland. He was a member of Parliament from 1807 to 1832 and secretary of the admiralty from 1810 to 1830. The...

Gotham

(Encyclopedia)Gotham gŏthˈəm [key], name for New York City first used by Washington Irving and others in the Salmagundi Papers, with satirical reference to Gotham, England, where the wise men acted as fools in o...

Glaisher, James

(Encyclopedia)Glaisher, James glāˈshər [key], 1809–1903, English meteorologist and balloonist, b. London. He served as superintendent of the department of meteorology and magnetism at Greenwich Observatory fro...

Lillie, Frank Rattray

(Encyclopedia)Lillie, Frank Rattray, 1870–1947, American zoologist and educator, b. Toronto, B.A. Univ. of Toronto, 1891, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1894. He taught, conducted research, and was an administrator at t...

Smeaton, John

(Encyclopedia)Smeaton, John smēˈtən [key], 1724–92, English civil engineer. He became an instrument maker, improved navigation instruments, and carried out many experiments on mechanical apparatus. Between 175...

Thénard, Louis Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Thénard, Louis Jacques lwē zhäk tānärˈ [key], 1777–1857, French chemist. He became professor at the Collège de France (1802), dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Paris (1821), chancellor of the ...

Say, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Say, Thomas, 1787–1843, American naturalist, b. Philadelphia. He went on collecting expeditions to Georgia and Florida and, with Stephen H. Long, to the Rocky Mts. and up the Mississippi and Minneso...

Maxwell, James Clerk

(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, James Clerk klärk [key], 1831–79, great Scottish physicist. After a brilliant career at Edinburgh and Cambridge, where he won early recognition with mathematical papers, he was a professor...