Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Powell, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Powell, John Wesley, 1834–1902, American geologist and ethnologist, b. Mt. Morris (now part of New York City). The family moved to Illinois, where Powell joined the Natural History Society, making c...

Powell, Enoch

(Encyclopedia)Powell, Enoch, 1912–98, British politician. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a fellow there (1934–38) and professor of Greek at the Univ. of Sydney, Australia (1937–39). He entered...

Franklin, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Benjamin, 1706–90, American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer, b. Boston. The only American of the colonial period to earn a European reputation as a natural philosopher, he is bes...

Franklin, William

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, William, c.1730–1813, last royal governor of New Jersey; illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. He grew up in Philadelphia, served in King George's War, and was (1754–56) comptroller of ...

Franklin, Aretha

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Aretha, 1942–2018, American singer and pianist, b. Memphis. The daughter of the well-known minister C. L. Franklin, she began singing in the choir of his Detroit Baptist church, where she ...

Powell, Jerome Hayden

(Encyclopedia)Powell, Jerome Hayden, 1953–, U.S. investment banker and government official, b. Washington, D.C., A.B. Princeton, 1975, J.D. Georgetown Univ., 1979. He worked with New York law firms and in investm...

Franklin, Ann Smith

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Ann Smith, 1696–1763, American printer; sister-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. After the death in 1735 of her husband, James Franklin, she carried on his commercial printing business, in Newp...

Buchanan, Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Buchanan, Franklin byo͞okăˈnən [key], 1800–1874, American naval officer, b. Baltimore. Appointed a midshipman in 1815, Buchanan rose to be a commander in 1841. He was chief adviser to Secretary ...

Franklin, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Franklin, Sir John, 1786–1847, British explorer in N Canada whose disappearance caused a widespread search of the Arctic. Entering the navy in 1801, he fought in the battle of Trafalgar. On his firs...

Hallam, Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Hallam, Lewis hălˈəm [key], c.1714–1756, Anglo-American actor and manager of the first professional theatrical company in the United States. He arrived from England with his company in 1752 and o...

Browse by Subject