Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Coke, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Coke, Thomas William ko͝ok [key], 1752–1842, English agricultural reformer. Created earl of Leicester of Holkham in 1837, he was known as Coke of Holkham. He improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and h...

Collins, William

(Encyclopedia)Collins, William, 1721–59, English poet. He was one of the great lyricists of the 18th cent. While he was still at Oxford he published Persian Ecologues (1742), which was written when he was 17. Uns...

Drummond, William

(Encyclopedia)Drummond, William, 1585–1649, Scottish poet. He was educated at Edinburgh and in France, retiring in 1610 to Hawthornden, where he spent his life as a gentleman of letters. His first volume of verse...

Safire, William L.

(Encyclopedia)Safire, William L. săfˈīrˌ [key], 1929–2009, American journalist and speechwriter, b. New York City as William Safir. A former reporter and public-relations executive, he became a speechwriter (...

Bouguereau, Adolphe William

(Encyclopedia)Bouguereau, Adolphe William ädôlfˈ, bo͞ogrōˈ [key], 1825–1905, French academic painter. He won the Prix de Rome in 1850 and became extremely popular during the 1860s and 70s. He is famous for ...

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...

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 ...

Baffin, William

(Encyclopedia)Baffin, William, c.1584–1622, British arctic explorer. He was pilot on two expeditions (1615–16) sent out to search for the Northwest Passage under command of Robert Bylot, who was formerly with H...

Gell, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Gell, Sir William gĕl [key], 1777–1836, English archaeologist. He served as chamberlain to Caroline, consort of the prince of Wales (later George IV), and accompanied her to Italy in 1814. His orig...

Aytoun, William Edmonstoune

(Encyclopedia)Aytoun, William Edmonstoune āˈto͞on [key], 1813–65, Scottish poet. He was (1845–64) professor of belles-lettres at Edinburgh Univ. The Bon Gaultier Ballads (written with Sir Theodore Martin, 18...