Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dollond, John

(Encyclopedia)Dollond, John dŏlˈənd [key], 1706–61, English optician and inventor. A silk weaver, he taught himself languages, mathematics, and science, becoming a noted scholar as well as a scientist. He inve...

Wolcot, John

(Encyclopedia)Wolcot, John wo͝olˈkət [key], pseud. Peter Pindar, 1738–1819, English poet. He wrote several satires, notably Lyric Odes to the Royal Academicians (1782–83), Bozzy and Piozzi (1786), and The Lo...

McCrae, John

(Encyclopedia)McCrae, John məkrāˈ [key], 1872–1918, Canadian physician and poet. His famous poem “In Flanders Fields,” written under fire during World War I, was published anonymously in Punch in 1915 and ...

Gauden, John

(Encyclopedia)Gauden, John gôˈdən [key], 1605–62, English clergyman. He claimed to have written the Eikon Basilike (1649), a tract in defense of Charles I. After the Restoration, Gauden was bishop of Exeter (1...

Wilbye, John

(Encyclopedia)Wilbye, John wĭlˈbē [key], 1574–1638, English madrigal composer. Although only two sets of his madrigals (1598, 1609) are extant, their excellence distinguishes him as perhaps the greatest Englis...

Slidell, John

(Encyclopedia)Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

Coffin, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Sir Isaac, 1759–1839, British naval officer, b. Boston, Mass. From a loyalist family, he fought for the British in the American Revolution and in the French Revolutionary Wars; at the end of...

Grove, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Grove, Sir George, 1820–1900, English musicographer, whose Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1879–89) has become a standard reference work. Originally an engineer, he assisted in the establishmen...

Helps, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Helps, Sir Arthur, 1813–75, English historian and author. His works include Friends in Council (3 series, 1847–59), dialogues on social and intellectual subjects; The Spanish Conquest in America (...

Brock, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Brock, Sir Thomas, 1847–1922, English sculptor. One of the leading sculptors under the reign of Victoria, he enjoyed a long and successful career. He became an Academician in 1891 and was knighted i...