Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Scoresby, William

(Encyclopedia)Scoresby, William skôrzˈbē [key], 1789–1857, English arctic explorer and scientist. He made yearly voyages (1803–22) to Greenland, at first on his father's whaler, later as captain on other shi...

Gillette, William

(Encyclopedia)Gillette, William jəlĕtˈ [key], 1853–1937, American actor and dramatist, b. Hartford, Conn. His New York debut in Mark Twain's Gilded Age (1877) was shortly followed by his own first play, The Pr...

Golding, William

(Encyclopedia)Golding, William (Sir William Gerald Golding), 1911–93, English novelist, grad. Oxford (B.A. 1934). Praised for his highly imaginative and original writings, Golding was basically concerned with the...

Camden, William

(Encyclopedia)Camden, William kămˈdən [key], 1551–1623, English scholar, chief historian and antiquary of Elizabethan times. His two chief works are Britannia (1586) and Annales rerum Anglicarum et Hibernicaru...

Moultrie, William

(Encyclopedia)Moultrie, William mo͞olˈtrē [key], 1730–1805, American Revolutionary general, b. Charleston, S.C. He had fought against the Native Americans (1761) and served in the colonial assembly before the ...

Proxmire, William

(Encyclopedia)Proxmire, William (Edward William Proxmire), 1915–2005, U.S. senator (1957–89), b. Lake Forest, Ill. He worked in army counterintelligence during World War II and later entered politics, serving (...

Alabaster, William

(Encyclopedia)Alabaster, William ălˌəbăsˈtər, ălˈəbăsˌtər [key], 1567–1640, English theologian and poet. Although he wrote two epic poems in Latin, he is remembered for his theological studies, includ...

Irvine, William

(Encyclopedia)Irvine, William ûrˈvĭn [key], 1741–1804, American soldier, b. Ireland. He studied medicine in Ireland and after 1764 practiced in Carlisle, Pa. He was called to service as colonel of a Pennsylvan...

Goffe, William

(Encyclopedia)Goffe, William gôf [key], d. c.1679, English soldier and regicide. A personal adherent of Oliver Cromwell, he fought in the English civil war, signed the death warrant of Charles I, and became an adm...

Allingham, William

(Encyclopedia)Allingham, William, 1824–89, English poet, b. Donegal, Ireland. He is best known for his short lyrics, most notably “The Fairies,” beginning “Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen.” ...