Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Tiffany, Charles Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Tiffany, Charles Lewis tĭfˈənē [key], 1812–1902, American merchant, b. Killingly, Conn. He founded the famous jewelry firm of Tiffany and Company, New York City. His improvements in styles of si...

Conant, James Bryant

(Encyclopedia)Conant, James Bryant kōˈnənt [key], 1893–1978, American educator, chemist, and diplomat, b. Dorchester, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1913; Ph.D., 1916). Except for a brief period in the army (1917...

Birney, James Gillespie

(Encyclopedia)Birney, James Gillespie bûrˈnē [key], 1792–1857, American abolitionist, b. Danville, Ky. He practiced law at Danville from 1814 to 1818, before he moved to Alabama, where he served one term in th...

Leslie, Charles Robert

(Encyclopedia)Leslie, Charles Robert lĕzˈlē [key], 1794–1859, English painter and writer, b. London. Educated in the United States, he returned to England to study art and to work. He painted incidents from li...

Leland, Charles Godfrey

(Encyclopedia)Leland, Charles Godfrey hänsˈ brītmän [key], 1824–1903, American author, b. Philadelphia, grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton), 1845, studied at Heidelberg, Munich, and Paris. While edito...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

Fraser, James Earle

(Encyclopedia)Fraser, James Earle, 1876–1953, American sculptor, b. Winona, Minn., studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. The best known of his many works are The End of the Trail (Visalia, Calif.)...

Crocker, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Crocker, Charles, 1822–88, American railroad builder, b. Troy, N.Y. In 1836 he moved with his family to Marshall co., Ind., where he later set up a small foundry. He joined a party to seek gold in C...

Browse by Subject