Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rockefeller, William

(Encyclopedia)Rockefeller, William, 1841–1922, American financier, b. Tioga co., N.Y.; brother of John D. Rockefeller. He joined (1865) his brother in the oil-refining business. William was a successful stock mar...

Pickett, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Pickett, Joseph, 1848–1918, American primitive painter, b. New Hope, Pa., where he lived all his life. He worked as a carpenter, canal-boat builder, and grocer. At about age 65, Pickett turned to pa...

Patroon painters

(Encyclopedia)Patroon painters, group of portraitists active in colonial New York from 1715 to 1730. Their work embodied the first clearly American style. The Patroon painters served the Dutch families of New York,...

Harlem River

(Encyclopedia)Harlem River, navigable tidal channel, 8 mi (12.9 km) long with Spuyten Duyvil Creek, in New York City, SE N.Y., separating Manhattan from the Bronx. Connecting the Hudson and East rivers, it is a shi...

Mitchell, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Arthur, 1934–2018, American dancer and choreographer, b. New York City. Mitchell studied in New York City at the School of American Ballet and appeared on Broadway and with various compani...

Tiffany, Louis Comfort

(Encyclopedia)Tiffany, Louis Comfort, 1848–1933, American artist, decorative designer, and art patron, b. New York City; son of Charles Lewis Tiffany. He studied painting with Inness and in Paris and painted oils...

Carman, Harry James

(Encyclopedia)Carman, Harry James, 1884–1964, American historian and educator, b. Greenfield, Saratoga co., N.Y. He was a elementary-school teacher and a high-school principal before becoming an instructor and th...

Heathcote, Caleb

(Encyclopedia)Heathcote, Caleb hēthˈkōt [key], 1666–1721, merchant and public official in colonial New York, b. England. He arrived in New York in 1692. He became a member of the governor's council and, in Wes...

Harrison, Lou Silver

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Lou Silver, 1917–2003, American composer, b. Portland, Oreg. He studied composition in California with Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg. His early work stresses percussion while combinin...

Ashokan Reservoir

(Encyclopedia)Ashokan Reservoir əshōˈkən [key], 13 sq mi (34 sq km), SE N.Y., completed 1912. It is supplied by the Esopus and Schoharie watersheds and provides part of New York City's water supply. Water is ca...