Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Johnson, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Jack (John Arthur Johnson), 1878–1946, American boxer, b. Galveston, Tex., the son of two ex-slaves. Emerging from the battle royals (dehumanizing fights between blacks for the amusement of...

Johnson, Martin Elmer

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Martin Elmer, 1884–1937, American explorer and author, b. Rockford, Ill. He left home at 14 to work his way to Europe on a cattle boat, returning as a stowaway. He then joined the crew of J...

Beeson, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Beeson, Jack, 1921–2010, American composer, b. Muncie, Ind. Beeson studied at the Eastman School of Music and privately in New York with Béla Bartók. Teaching at Columbia from 1945, he was named M...

jack-o'-lantern

(Encyclopedia)jack-o'-lantern, common name for the mushroom species Clitocybe illudens. ...

Dempsey, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Dempsey, Jack (William Harrison Dempsey), 1895–1983, American boxer, b. Manassa, Colo. Dempsey, called the “Manassa Mauler,” emerged from fights on saloon floors near mining camps to become (191...

Anderson, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Jack (Jackson Northman Anderson), 1922–2005, American newspaper columnist, b. Long Beach, Calif. After serving as a Mormon missionary (1941–44) and a term as a war correspondent during 1...

Cade, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Cade, Jack, d. 1450, English rebel. Of his life very little is known. He may have been of Irish birth; some of his followers called him John Mortimer and claimed he was a cousin of Richard, duke of Yo...

Captain Jack

(Encyclopedia)Captain Jack (d. 1873), subchief of the Modoc and leader of the hostile group in the Modoc War (1872–73). Jack, whose Modoc name was Kintpuash kĭntˈpo͞oäsh [key], had agreed (1864) to leave his ...

Bogle, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Bogle, Jack (John Clifton Bogle) [key], 1929–2019, American financial executive, b. Montclair, N.J., grad. Princeton (1951). Going to work for Walter Morgan's Wellington Fund, he became CEO in 1967...

Benny, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Benny, Jack, 1894–1974, American comedian, b. Waukegan, Ill., as Benjamin Kubelsky. His shows on radio (1932–55) and television (1950–65) made famous his miserliness, reproachful silences, and v...