Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

James, Thomas, English navigator and explorer

(Encyclopedia)James, Thomas, 1593?–1635?, English navigator and explorer (1631) of James Bay. Financed by Bristol merchants, he sailed in command of the Henrietta Maria in the spring of 1631 to find the Northwest...

Niagara Falls, waterfall, United States and Canada

(Encyclopedia)Niagara Falls, in the Niagara River, W N.Y. and S Ont., Canada; one of the most famous spectacles in North America. The falls are on the international line between the cities of Niagara Falls, N.Y., a...

Bogardus, James

(Encyclopedia)Bogardus, James bōgärˈdəs [key], 1800–1874, American architect, b. Catskill, N.Y. Among the first to use cast iron in the construction of building facades, Bogardus was noted for his commercial ...

United Methodist Church

(Encyclopedia)United Methodist Church, religious body formed by the union in 1968 of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church (see Methodism), with churches in the United States, Africa, and ...

Garfield, James Abram

(Encyclopedia)Garfield, James Abram, 1831–81, 20th President of the United States (Mar.–Sept., 1881). Born on a frontier farm in Cuyahoga co., Ohio, he spent his early years in poverty. As a youth he worked as ...

United Irishmen

(Encyclopedia)United Irishmen or United Irish Society, Irish political organization. It was founded at Belfast in 1791 by Theobald Wolfe Tone. Disgruntled by the use of English patronage to control Irish politics, ...

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...

Galanos, James

(Encyclopedia)Galanos, James gəlänˈōs [key], 1925–2016, American fashion designer, b. Philadelphia, settled in California 1945. His luxurious, expensive clothing, created with the most exacting workmanship, w...

Wilkinson, James

(Encyclopedia)Wilkinson, James, 1757–1825, American general and one of the most corrupt and devious officers in the nation's early army, b. Calvert co., Md. Abandoning his medical studies in 1776 to join the army...

Hamilton, James, 3d earl of Arran

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, James, 3d earl of Arran, 1530–1609, Scottish nobleman; son of James Hamilton, 2d earl of Arran. He spent some years (1550–58) as a soldier in France, but his espousal of Protestantism br...