Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Trent Affair

(Encyclopedia)Trent Affair, incident in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain, which occurred during the American Civil War. On Nov. 8, 1861, the British mail packet Trent, carrying J...

Cromwell, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Cromwell, Oliver krŏmˈwĕl, krŭmˈ–, –wəl [key], 1599–1658, lord protector of England. Opinions of Cromwell have always varied widely. His military skill and force of character are univers...

Steelyard, Merchants of the

(Encyclopedia)Steelyard, Merchants of the, German hanse, or merchants guild, residing at the Steelyard on the Thames near the present Ironbridge Wharf at London, England. The merchants of the Hanseatic League in Lo...

Carleton, Guy, 1st Baron Dorchester

(Encyclopedia)Carleton, Guy, 1st Baron Dorchester, 1724–1808, governor of Quebec and British commander during the American Revolution. He began his service in America in 1758 and distinguished himself in the Fren...

Field, Stephen Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Field, Stephen Johnson, 1816–99, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1863–97), b. Haddam, Conn. After practicing law for several years in New York City with his brother D...

Jackson, Henry Martin “Scoop”

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Henry Martin “Scoop,” 1912–83, American political leader, b. Everett, Wash. As a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1941–53) and Senate (1953–83) he was a suppo...

bastard

(Encyclopedia)bastard, person born out of wedlock whose legal status is illegitimacy. In civil law countries and in about half the states of the United States, the union of the parents in marriage after birth makes...

Lukashenko, Aleksandr Grigoryevich

(Encyclopedia)Lukashenko, Aleksandr Grigoryevich əlyĭksänˈdər grĭgôrˈyəvĭch lo͞okäshĕnˈkô [key], Belarusian Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka, 1954–, Belarusian politician, president of Belarus (199...

Singleton, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Singleton, Benjamin, c. 1809–c. 1900, African-American leader of post–Civil War black resettlement in the West, b. Davidson co. (now coextensive with Nashville), Tenn. He escaped slavery in 1846, ...

Pym, John

(Encyclopedia)Pym, John pĭm [key], 1583?–1643, English statesman. A Puritan opposed equally to Roman Catholicism and to Arminianism in the Anglican church, Pym early became prominent in the parliamentary opposit...