Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, William Herbert, 3d earl of, 1580–1630, English courtier and patron of letters. Son of Mary Herbert, countess of Pembroke, and nephew of Sir Philip Sidney, he was tutored by the poet Samue...

Eccles, Sir John Carew

(Encyclopedia)Eccles, Sir John Carew kârˈē, ĕkˈəlz [key], 1903–97, Australian neurophysiologist. He was educated at the Univ. of Melbourne and at Magdalene College, Oxford. He was director (1937–44) of th...

Miller, William

(Encyclopedia)Miller, William, 1782–1849, American sectarian leader, b. Pittsfield, Mass. He was the founder of the sect of Second Adventists, sometimes called Millerites. In 1831, convinced from study of the Bib...

Powell, William

(Encyclopedia)Powell, William, 1892–1984, American movie actor, b. Pittsburgh. Powell made his stage debut in 1912. He played the dapper villain in such early films as Sherlock Holmes (1921), Romola (1924), and B...

Allen, William

(Encyclopedia)Allen, William, 1704–80, American jurist, b. Philadelphia. He and his father-in-law, Andrew Hamilton, decided the choice of Philadelphia instead of Chester as provincial capital, and he helped finan...

Steig, William

(Encyclopedia)Steig, William, 1907–2003, American cartoonist and children's book writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He began drawing cartoons for the The New Yorker in the 1930s, and ultimately produced over 1,600 spontan...

Cockburn, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Cockburn, Sir George, 1772–1853, British admiral. He served in the Mediterranean, and in the War of 1812 he participated in the Chesapeake Bay expeditions and in the burning of Washington. He convey...

Evans, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Evans, Sir John, 1823–1908, English archaeologist, geologist, and numismatist. A president of the Royal Numismatic Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, he was active also in public welfare and...

Garth, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Garth, Sir Samuel, 1661–1719, English poet and physician, b. Yorkshire. He studied medicine at Leiden and Cambridge. His chief work is the satirical poem The Dispensary (1699), in which he advocates...

Barton, Sir Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Barton, Sir Edmund, 1849–1920, Australian jurist and statesman. He was a leader in the movement for Australian federation, and became the first prime minister of the Commonwealth of Australia in 190...

Browse by Subject