Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rothermel, Peter Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Rothermel, Peter Frederick rŏᵺˈərmĕl [key], 1817–95, American painter, b. Nescopeck, Pa., studied in Paris. His noted historical works include a colossal Battle of Gettysburg (Capitol building...

Carleton, Will

(Encyclopedia)Carleton, Will, 1845–1912, American poet, b. Hudson, Mich. He is best known for his sentimental poems of rural life, the most famous being “Over the Hill to the Poorhouse.” Among his works are F...

Osborne, Thomas Burr

(Encyclopedia)Osborne, Thomas Burr, 1859–1929, American chemist, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Yale, 1881. From 1886 he was with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. An authority on nutrition, especially...

Dewey, Thomas Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Dewey, Thomas Edmund, 1902–71, American political figure, governor (1943–55) of New York, b. Owosso, Mich. Admitted (1925) to the bar, Dewey practiced law and in 1931 became chief assistant U.S. a...

Derby, Elias Hasket

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Elias Hasket dûrˈbē [key], 1739–99, American merchant, b. Salem, Mass. He inherited the considerable wealth and maritime business that his father, Richard Derby (1712–83), also of Salem,...

Dunbar, Paul Laurence

(Encyclopedia)Dunbar, Paul Laurence dŭnˈbär [key], 1872–1906, American poet and novelist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of former slaves, he won recognition with his Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896)—a collection of po...

Dana, Richard Henry

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Richard Henry, 1787–1879, American poet and essayist, b. Cambridge, Mass.; son of Francis Dana. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1811. Critic and poet, Dana was a founder and ...

Davis, Miles

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Miles, 1926–91, American jazz musician, b. Alton, Ill. Rising to prominence with the birth of modern jazz in the mid-1940s, when he was a sideman in Charlie Parker's bop quintet, Davis became...

Davis, Richard Harding

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Richard Harding, 1864–1916, American author and journalist, b. Philadelphia; son of Rebecca Harding Davis. After attending Lehigh and Johns Hopkins universities, he became a reporter in Phila...

Farrell, Eileen

(Encyclopedia)Farrell, Eileen fârˈəl [key], 1920–2002, American dramatic soprano, b. Willimantic, Conn. Farrell received her early musical training from her vaudvillian mother. Having begun singing on the radi...