Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

(Encyclopedia) Walker, Herschel Junior, 1962–, American football player, b. Wrightsville, Ga. After winning the 1982 Heisman Trophy, as college football's best player, at the Univ. of Georgia, he played (1983–85...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Herschel Vespasian, 1812–80, U.S. political leader, b. Burke co., Ga. Admitted to the bar in 1834, he filled (1848–49) an unexpired Senate term before serving as circuit court judge (1849...

(Encyclopedia) Glenn, John Herschel, Jr., 1921–2016, American astronaut and politician, b. Cambridge, Ohio. On Feb. 20, 1962, he became the first American and the third person to orbit the earth, circling the glob...

(Encyclopedia) Slough slou [key], borough and unitary authority (1991 pop. 106,341), central England. After World War I, residential Slough and its outlying area underwent rapid industrial development, owing in part...

(Encyclopedia) Rosse, William Parsons, 3d earl of rôs [key], 1800–1867, British astronomer and constructor of telescopes. He served as member of Parliament for King's Co., Ireland (1821–34), Irish representativ...

(Encyclopedia) Lemonnier, Pierre Charles pyĕr shärl ləmônyāˈ [key], 1715–99, French astronomer. For many years he was professor of physics at the Collège de France. He studied the moon and the influence of ...

(Encyclopedia) New General Catalog (NGC), standard reference list of nebulae (see nebula). It is based on the General Catalog, published in 1864, which included 2,500 nebulae cataloged by William Herschel and an add...

(Encyclopedia) Mimas mīˈmăs [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn I (or S1), Mimas is 244 mi (392 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance of...

(Encyclopedia) Hazlitt, William, 1778–1830, English essayist. The son of a reform-mindeed Unitarian minister, he abandoned the idea of entering the clergy and took up painting, philosophy, and later journalism. He...