Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus hĕkˈəvĕldər [key], 1743–1823, Moravian missionary in the United States, b. Bedford, England. Settling (1754) in Bethlehem, Pa., with his parents, he later wa...

(Encyclopedia) Katz, Alex, 1927–, American painter, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., studied Cooper Union, New York City (1946–49), Skowhegan School, Maine (1949–50). At a time when abstract expressionism captured most crit...

(Encyclopedia) Rubin, Vera, 1928–2016, American astronomer, b. Philadelphia as Vera Florence Cooper, Ph.D. Georgetown (1954). After teaching at Georgetown, she joined (1965) the Carnegie Institution's department o...

(Encyclopedia) Mar, John Erskine, 2d (or 7th) earl of, 1558–1634, Scottish nobleman; son of the 1st (or 6th) earl. In 1578 he was persuaded by James Douglas, 4th earl of Morton, to assert his claims to Stirling Ca...

(Encyclopedia) piracy, robbery committed or attempted on the high seas. It is distinguished from privateering in that the pirate holds no commission from and receives the protection of no nation but usually attacks ...

(Encyclopedia) Douglas, Archibald, 5th earl of Douglas, 1391?–1439, Scottish nobleman; son of Archibald Douglas, 4th earl of Douglas. He fought in France for the French against the English in 1421 and persuaded hi...

(Encyclopedia) Ormonde, James Butler, 12th earl and 1st duke of ôrˈmənd [key], 1610–88, Irish statesman, most powerful royalist influence in Ireland during the English civil war. A ward of the crown after the d...

(Encyclopedia) Hamilton, John Hamilton, 1st marquess of, 1532–1604, Scottish nobleman; second son of James Hamilton, 2d earl of Arran. He was in his earlier years hostile to Mary Queen of Scots, but he later becam...

(Encyclopedia) Callaghan of Cardiff, Leonard James Callaghan, Baron, 1912–2005, British statesman. He was first elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1945. As chancellor of the exchequer (1964–67), he intr...

(Encyclopedia) Ney, Michel mēshĕlˈ nā [key], 1769–1815, marshal of France. Called “the bravest of the brave” by Napoleon I, Ney, a cooper's son from Saarlouis, rapidly rose to glory in the French Revolutio...