Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Charles Henry, 1807–77, American naval officer and scientist, b. Boston. Appointed a midshipman in 1823, Davis directed operations of the Coast Survey for a time along the New England coast. ...

(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) 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...

(Encyclopedia) Davis, George Breckenridge, 1847–1914, American army officer and jurist, b. Ware, Mass., grad. West Point, 1871. His early military service was divided between duty on the Western frontier and teach...

(Encyclopedia) Oliver, Mary, 1935–2019, American poet, b. Cleveland, Ohio, studied Ohio State Univ., Vassar. She published her first collection of poems, No Voyage and Other Poems, in 1963. She was a keen observer...

(Encyclopedia) Bond, J. Max, Jr., 1935-2009, African-American architect, b. Lexington, Ky., Harvard Univ. (BA, 1955; MA, 1958). Bond’s father, J. Max, Sr., was ...

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Rebecca Harding, 1831–1910, American novelist, b. Washington, Pa.; mother of Richard Harding Davis. Her early nonfiction pieces, particularly those collected under the title Life in the Iron ...

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Andrew Jackson, 1826–1910, American spiritualist, b. Blooming Grove, N.Y. He became a professional clairvoyant, known as the “Poughkeepsie Seer,” after being mesmerized in 1843. He was po...

(Encyclopedia) Davis, John William, 1873–1955, American lawyer and public official, b. Clarksburg, W.Va. Admitted (1895) to the bar, he taught (1896–97) at Washington and Lee Univ. and later practiced (1897–19...

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Alexander Jackson, 1803–92, American architect, b. New York City. He was the partner of Ithiel Town of New Haven, with whom he designed many important buildings in both the Greek and Gothic r...