Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) almanac, originally, a calendar with notations of astronomical and other data. Almanacs have been known in simple form almost since the invention of writing, for they served to record religious feasts...

(Encyclopedia) Jay, John, 1745–1829, American statesman, 1st chief justice of the United States, b. New York City, grad. King's College (now Columbia Univ.), 1764. He was admitted (1768) to the bar and for a time ...

(Encyclopedia) Priestley, Joseph, 1733–1804, English theologian and scientist. He prepared for the Presbyterian ministry and served several churches in England as pastor but gradually rejected orthodox Calvinism a...

(Encyclopedia) Farragut, David Glasgow fărˈəgət [key], 1801–70, American admiral, b. near Knoxville, Tenn. Appointed a midshipman in 1810, he first served on the frigate Essex, commanded by David Porter, his s...

(Encyclopedia) MacMillan, David W.C., 1968–, b. Bellshill, U.K. Scotish chemist, James S. McDonnell Distiguished University Professor in Chemistry and ...

(Encyclopedia) Four Freedoms. In his message to Congress proposing lend-lease legislation (Jan. 6, 1941), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated that Four Freedoms should prevail everywhere in the world—freedo...

(Encyclopedia) Harrison, Pat (Byron Patton Harrison), 1881–1941, U.S. Congressman, b. Crystal Springs, Miss. A lawyer, he served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1911–19) and in the U.S. Senat...

(Encyclopedia) Davidson, Jo, 1883–1952, American sculptor, b. New York City. He studied at the Art Students League and the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He is known especially for his portrait busts, which display...

(Encyclopedia) Fredericksburg, battle of, in the Civil War, fought Dec. 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Va. In Nov., 1862, the Union general Ambrose Burnside moved his three “grand divisions” under W. B. Franklin, ...

(Encyclopedia) Malbone, Edward Greene mălbōnˈ [key], 1777–1807, American portrait painter and miniaturist, b. Newport, R.I. After painting portraits in Providence and Boston, he accompanied Washington Allston t...