Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Schumer, Chuck

(Encyclopedia)Schumer, Chuck (Charles Ellis Schumer), 1950–, American politician, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Harvard, 1971, Harvard law school, 1974. A liberal Democrat, he served three terms in the New York state ...

Alexander Severus

(Encyclopedia)Alexander Severus (Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus) sĭvērˈəs [key], d. 235, Roman emperor (222–35), b. Syria. His name was changed (221) from Alexius Bassianus when he was adopted as the succe...

Chandos, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Chandos, Sir John shănˈdŏs, chănˈ– [key], d. 1370, English soldier and administrator of English territories in France. A friend of Edward the Black Prince, he won distinction in the Hundred Yea...

De Forest, John William

(Encyclopedia)De Forest, John William də fôrˈəst, fŏrˈ– [key], 1826–1906, American author, b. Seymour, Conn. He served in the Civil War, chiefly as a captain. His vivid accounts of battle scenes in Louisi...

Graves, Thomas Graves, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Graves, Thomas Graves, Baron, 1725?–1802, British admiral. During the American Revolution his fleet was routed (1781) by the comte de Grasse at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, a defeat that led directl...

Valls Galfetti, Manuel Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Valls Galfetti, Manuel Carlos, 1962–, b. Barcelona, Spain. After his family moved to Paris, he became a member of the Socialist party (1980) and a French citizen (1982). Valls was a Ile-de-France co...

Vardaman, James Kimble

(Encyclopedia)Vardaman, James Kimble, 1861–1930, U.S. political leader, b. near Edna, Jackson co., Tex. Admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1881, he practiced law and was a newspaper editor before entering politic...

Prescott, William

(Encyclopedia)Prescott, William, 1726–95, American Revolutionary officer, b. Groton, Mass. He saw service in the French and Indian Wars. In the American Revolution, he fortified (1775) Breed's Hill for the coloni...

Spotsylvania

(Encyclopedia)Spotsylvania spŏtˌsĭlvāˈnyə [key], rural county (1990 pop. 57,403), NE Va., formerly part of the estate of Alexander Spotswood, colonial governor of Virginia. It was the scene of several major e...

Bukele Ortez, Nayib Armando

(Encyclopedia)Bukele Ortez, Nayib Armando, 1981–, Salvadoran businessman and politician. Of Palestinian descent, he followed his father into business at an early age. Originally a member of the Farabundo Martí N...