Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis Mencken) mĕngˈkən, mĕnˈ– [key], 1880–1956, American editor, author, and critic, b. Baltimore, studied at the Baltimore Polytechnic. Probably America's most influen...

(Encyclopedia) Foyt, A. J. (Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr.), 1935–, American auto-racing driver, b. Houston. Foyt was the first person to win the Indianapolis 500 race four times (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977). He also won th...

(Encyclopedia) Muhammad, Benjamin Franklin Chavis, 1948–, African-American civil-rights and religious leader, b. Oxford, N.C., as Benjamin Franklin Chavis, Jr. An activist from boyhood, he was a youth coordinator ...

(Encyclopedia) Eberhart, Richard ĕbˈərhärtˌ [key], 1904–2005, American poet, b. Austin, Minn., grad. Dartmouth (1926) and Cambridge (1929, 1933). He taught at various universities before becoming a professor ...

(Encyclopedia) Canby, Edward Richard Sprigg, 1817–73, Union general in the Civil War, b. Kentucky, grad. West Point, 1839. He fought in the Seminole War and in the Mexican War. In the Civil War, Canby commanded th...

(Encyclopedia) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientific panel created (1988) by two United Nations organizations, the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization. Open to all...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, William Samuel, 1727–1819, American political leader and president of Columbia College (1787–1800), b. Stratford, Conn. A lawyer in Connecticut, he soon became a leading figure in the col...

(Encyclopedia) Robertson, Pat (Marion Gordon Robertson), 1930–2023, American evangelist and politician, b. Lexington, Va. The son of U.S. Senator A. Willis Robertson...

(Encyclopedia) Rogers, Will (William Penn Adair Rogers), 1879–1935, American humorist, b. Oolagah, Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma). In his youth he worked as a cowboy in Oklahoma, and after traveling over the w...

(Encyclopedia) Ryder, Donald P., , 1926-2021, African-American architect, b. Springfield, Oh., Univ. of Illinois (BA, 1951). Ryder was raised in Dayton, Ohio. He serve...