Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Weber and Fields

(Encyclopedia)Weber and Fields wĕbˈər [key], American comedy team. The partners were Joe Weber (Joseph Maurice Weber), 1867–1942, and Lew Fields (Lewis Maurice Schanfield), 1867–1941, both born in New York C...

Stilwell, Joseph Warren

(Encyclopedia)Stilwell, Joseph Warren, 1883–1946, American general, b. Palatka, Fla. Commissioned in the army in 1904, he fought in World War I and later served for 13 years in China. In Feb., 1942, during World ...

Seven Days battles

(Encyclopedia)Seven Days battles, in the American Civil War, the week-long Confederate counter-offensive (June 26–July 2, 1862) near Richmond, Va., that ended the Peninsular campaign. After the battle of Fair Oak...

Harriman, Edward Henry

(Encyclopedia)Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848–1909, American railroad executive, b. Hempstead, N.Y.; father of William Averell Harriman. He became a stockbroker in New York City and soon entered the railroad field, ...

Northern Pacific Railway

(Encyclopedia)Northern Pacific Railway, former American rail line, following the northern route from Duluth and St. Paul, Minn., to Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Oreg. The Northern Pacific RR Company was chartered ...

Montmartre

(Encyclopedia)Montmartre môNmärˈtrə [key] [Fr.,=hill of the martyrs], hill in Paris, on the right bank of the Seine River. The highest point of Paris, it is topped by the Church of Sacré-Cœur. Parts of the an...

Gettysburg campaign

(Encyclopedia)Gettysburg campaign, June–July, 1863, series of decisive battles of the U.S. Civil War. The Gettysburg battles included more than 160,000 soldiers and many camp laborers. These included thousands ...

Handy, W. C.

(Encyclopedia)Handy, W. C. (William Christopher Handy), 1873–1958, American songwriter and band leader, b. Florence, Ala. Largely self-taught, Handy began his career as a cornet player in a minstrel show in 1896,...

Haringey

(Encyclopedia)Haringey hârˈĭng-gāˌ [key], outer borough of Greater London, SE England. Although defined as an ...

Mount Stephen, George Stephen, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Mount Stephen, George Stephen, 1st Baron, 1829–1921, Canadian financier and railroad builder, b. Scotland. He emigrated to Canada in 1850, became a manufacturer, and was (1876–81) president of the...