Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Wolfe, James

(Encyclopedia)Wolfe, James, 1727–59, British soldier. After a distinguished record in European campaigns, he was made (1758) second in command to Jeffery Amherst in the last of the French and Indian Wars. Through...

Cameron, James

(Encyclopedia)Cameron, James, 1954–, Canadian motion-picture director and screenwriter, b. Kapuskasing, Ont. Beginning as a screenwriter and then art director, he first directed in 1981. His science-fiction block...

Allen, James Lane

(Encyclopedia)Allen, James Lane, 1849–1925, American novelist, b. Lexington, Kentucky. Among his stylized, “genteel” novels set in his native region are A Kentucky Cardinal (1894), Aftermath (1895), and The C...

McReynolds, James Clark

(Encyclopedia)McReynolds, James Clark məkrĕnˈəldz [key], 1862–1946, U.S. Attorney General (1913–14) and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1914–41), b. Elkton, Ky. He received his law degree fro...

Geertz, Clifford James

(Encyclopedia)Geertz, Clifford James gĭrts [key], 1926–2006, American cultural anthropologist, b. San Francisco. He was a professor of anthropology at the Univ. of Chicago from 1960 to 1970, when he became a pro...

Ervin, Samuel James

(Encyclopedia)Ervin, Samuel James ûrˈvĭn [key], 1896–1985, U.S. senator (1954–75), b. Morganton, N.C. Admitted to the bar in 1919, he became a distinguished jurist, serving as a judge on a county criminal co...

Joule, James Prescott

(Encyclopedia)Joule, James Prescott jo͞ol, joul [key], 1818–89, English physicist. His scientific researches began in his youth when he invented an electromagnetic engine. Joule made valuable contributions to th...

Wallack, James William

(Encyclopedia)Wallack, James William wŏlˈək [key], c.1795–1864, Anglo-American actor and manager. Of a theatrical family, he was a leading actor (1812–32) in both comedy and melodrama at Drury Lane. After 18...

Walsh, Thomas James

(Encyclopedia)Walsh, Thomas James wôlsh [key], 1859–1933, American political leader, b. Two Rivers, Wis. A lawyer, he was Democratic Senator from Montana from 1913 until his death. Walsh helped write the Eightee...

horsepower

(Encyclopedia)horsepower, unit of power in the English system of units. It is equal to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute or 550 foot-pounds per second or approximately 746 watts. The term horsepower originated with Jam...

Browse by Subject