Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Styron, William, 1925–2006, American novelist, b. Newport News, Va., grad. Duke, 1947. His fiction is often powerful, deeply felt, poetic, and elegiac. He became well known for his novel The Confess...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand, 1721–92, Prussian field marshal, a prince of the house of Brunswick, known as Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick. He served King Frederick II of Prussia brilliantly in the Seven Years War, nota...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick Augustus I, 1750–1827, king (1806–27) and elector (1763–1806) of Saxony, grand duke of Warsaw (1807–14). He sided with the allies in the French Revolutionary Wars and joined Prussia ...

(Encyclopedia) Xerxes II, d. 424 b.c., king of ancient Persia (424 b.c.), son of Artaxerxes I. After a reign of 45 days he was murdered by his half-brother Sogdianus. ...

(Encyclopedia) Maginn, William məgĭnˈ [key], 1793–1842, Irish writer. Some of his best stories and essays appeared in Blackwood's Magazine. His short story “Bob Burke's Duel with Ensign Brady” is considered...

(Encyclopedia) Dudok, William do͞oˈdôk [key], 1884–1974, Dutch architect. Dudok developed a dignified, widely influential style emphasizing the horizontal and utilizing an asymmetric effect with cubic groupings...

(Encyclopedia) Carey, William, 1761–1834, English Baptist missionary and Orientalist, one of the first Protestant missionaries to India. He helped found the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 and shortly thereafte...

(Encyclopedia) Alabaster, William ălˌəbăsˈtər, ălˈəbăsˌtər [key], 1567–1640, English theologian and poet. Although he wrote two epic poems in Latin, he is remembered for his theological studies, includ...

(Encyclopedia) Rockefeller, William, 1841–1922, American financier, b. Tioga co., N.Y.; brother of John D. Rockefeller. He joined (1865) his brother in the oil-refining business. William was a successful stock mar...

(Encyclopedia) Burges, William bûrˈjĭz [key], 1827–81, English architect. An ardent proponent of Victorian medievalism, he was prominent in the Gothic revival. Burges is known for his designs for Cork Cathedral...