Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Heyward, Thomas, 1746–1809, political leader and soldier in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near Charleston, S.C. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress...

(Encyclopedia) Washington-on-the-Brazos, former town, S central Tex., on the Brazos River; settled 1821. It was the scene of the Texas declaration of independence from Mexico on Mar. 2, 1836, and in 1842 it was the ...

(Encyclopedia) Whipple, William, 1730–85, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Kittery, Maine. Whipple, who had been a sea captain, was a merchant of Portsmout...

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, George, 1716–81, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Ireland. He settled in Pennsylvania (1736), where he became a manufacturer of iron...

(Encyclopedia) New Caledonia, Fr. Nouvelle Calédonie, officially Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies, internally self-governing dependency of France (2015 est. pop. 269,000), land area 7,241 sq mi (18,760 s...

(Encyclopedia) Boston Latin School, at Boston; opened 1635 as a school for boys; one of the oldest free public schools in the United States. Many famous men attended the school, including five signers of the Declara...

(Encyclopedia) Church, Sir Richard, 1784–1873, British army officer. After varied service, he organized a Greek regiment to defend (1812–15) the Ionian Islands, and in 1827 he was made generalissimo of the Greek...

(Encyclopedia) Rhee, Syngman sĭngˈmən rē [key], 1875–1965, Korean statesman, president of the Republic of Korea (1948–60). Early an advocate of Korean independence, he led a demonstration against the Japanes...

(Encyclopedia) Thaçi, Hashim häshēmˈ thäˈchē [key], 1968–, Kosovar political leader. An ethnic Albanian, he studied history and politics at Priština Univ., becoming active in Kosovo's independence movement...

(Encyclopedia) Burnet, David Gouverneur gŭvˌəno͝orˈ bûrˈnĭt [key], 1788–1870, provisional president of Texas (1836), b. Newark, N.J.; son of William Burnet (1730–91). He went to Texas c.1817, and his leg...