Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bradshaw, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Bradshaw, Henry, 1831–86, English librarian and antiquarian at Cambridge. He discovered, organized, and made known the university's treasures of manuscripts and incunabula, especially those in Gaeli...

Henry VII, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VII, 1457–1509, king of England (1485–1509) and founder of the Tudor dynasty. Henry was an astute political leader. He established the Tudor tradition of strong rule tempered by a sense ...

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...

O. Henry

(Encyclopedia)O. Henry, pseud. of William Sydney Porter, 1862–1910, American short-story writer, b. Greensboro, N.C. He went to Texas in 1882 and worked at various jobs—as teller in an Austin bank (1891–94) a...

Sidgwick, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Sidgwick, Henry sĭjˈwĭk [key], 1838–1900, English philosopher. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and taught moral philosophy there from 1869 until 1900. The basis of his thought was Briti...

Henry IV, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1367–1413, king of England (1399–1413), eldest son of John of Gaunt and grandson of Edward III; called Henry of Bolingbroke. He founded the Lancastrian dynasty. The new king was immed...

Medwall, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Medwall, Henry, fl. 1486, first known English vernacular dramatist. He was chaplain to Cardinal Morton. His Fulgens and Lucrece (1497), whose heroine must choose between two suitors, is the earliest k...

Laurens, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Laurens, Henry lôrˈənz, lärˈ– [key], 1724–92, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Charleston, S.C. A wealthy merchant and planter, he was, in the years preceding the Revolution, a...

Stevens, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Stevens, Henry, 1819–86, American bookdealer and bibliographer, b. Barnet, Vt. After attending college and law school, Stevens went to Europe as agent for several important libraries of the United S...

Browse by Subject