Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Pleasonton, Alfred, 1824–97, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Washington, D.C. He served in the Mexican War and in the Indian wars on the frontier. In the Civil War, he distinguished hims...

(Encyclopedia) Gottfried von Strassburg gôtˈfrēt fən shträsˈbo͝orkh [key], fl. 13th cent., German poet, also called Godfrey of Strasbourg. He is thought to have been official scribe of Strasbourg, but little ...

(Encyclopedia) Lancaster, Joseph, 1778–1838, English educator. In 1801 he founded a free elementary school, using a type of monitorial system for which he acknowledged his debt to Andrew Bell. The Royal Lancasteri...

(Encyclopedia) Lyric Opera of Chicago, opera company founded 1954 as the Lyric Theatre of Chicago; it was renamed prior to its 1956 season. The company performs at the ornate Lyric Opera House, formerly the Civic Op...

(Encyclopedia) Daschle, Tom (Thomas Andrew Daschle) dăshˈəl [key], 1947–, U.S. senator from South Dakota (1987–2005), b. Aberdeen, S.Dak. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 197...

(Encyclopedia) Eccles, Sir John Carew kârˈē, ĕkˈəlz [key], 1903–97, Australian neurophysiologist. He was educated at the Univ. of Melbourne and at Magdalene College, Oxford. He was director (1937–44) of th...

(Encyclopedia) Bradford, William, 1722–91, American Revolutionary printer and patriot; grandson of William Bradford (1663–1752). He learned printing from his uncle, Andrew Bradford, in Philadelphia, and in 1742 ...

(Encyclopedia) Foster, Rube (Andrew Bishop Foster), 1879–1930, African-American baseball player and executive, b. Calvert, Tex. Known as “the father of black baseball,” he turned professional with the Chicago ...

(Encyclopedia) Hart, Albert Bushnell, 1854–1943, American historian, b. Clarksville, Greene co., Pa. He began teaching history at Harvard in 1883, became a full professor in 1897, and from 1910 until his retiremen...

(Encyclopedia) Ardern, Jacinda Kate Laurell, 1980–, New Zealand political leader. A member of the Labor party, she worked for Prime Minister Helen Clark and for British prime minister Tony Blair and also was elect...