Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dulac, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Dulac, Edmund dyo͞olăkˈ [key], 1882–1953, French illustrator of English books. He is known for his imaginative, colorful illustrations of the Arabian Nights (1907), Shakespeare's Tempest (1908), ...

Calamy, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Calamy, Edmund kălˈəmē [key], 1600–1666, English Presbyterian preacher. In 1636 his opposition to the observance of certain church ceremonies forced his withdrawal as lecturer at Bury St. Edmund...

Wilson, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Alexander, 1766–1813, American ornithologist, b. Scotland. He came to the United States c.1794, taught in rural New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and became a citizen in 1804. Encouraged by Willi...

Wilson, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Robert, 1941–, dramatist, director, and designer, b. Waco, Tex. He began his arts career as a painter. A leading figure in postmodern theater since 1963, when he arrived in New York City, he...

Wilson, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Henry, 1812–75, American politician, Vice President of the United States (1873–75), b. Farmington, N.H. At 21 he legally changed his name from Jeremiah Jones Colbath, and as Henry Wilson h...

Wilson, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Benjamin, 1721–88, English portrait painter and electrician who opposed Benjamin Franklin's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported Newton's gravitational-opti...

Wilson, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Pete (Peter Barton Wilson), 1933–, American politician, b. Lake Forest, Ill. A lawyer and moderate Republican, he began his career in local politics. He was a campaign aide in Richard Nixon'...

Wilson, August

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, August, 1945–2005, American playwright and poet, b. Pittsburgh as Frederick August Kittel, Jr. Largely self-educated, Wilson first attracted wide critical attention with his Broadway debut, ...

Wilson, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Mount, peak, 5,710 ft (1,740 m) high, S Calif., in the San Gabriel Mts., NE of Pasadena. It is the site of Mt. Wilson Observatory (est. 1904), one of the Hale Observatories. A 100-in. (254-cm)...

Browse by Subject