Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) O'Brien, Edna, 1932–, Irish writer. Although she moved to London in 1954, her constant theme and recurring setting is Ireland. In richly sensual prose, O'Brien explores the dreams, failed marriages,...

(Encyclopedia) Cameron, James, 1954–, Canadian motion-picture director and screenwriter, b. Kapuskasing, Ont. Beginning as a screenwriter and then art director, he first directed in 1981. His science-fiction block...

(Encyclopedia) Wolfe, James, 1727–59, British soldier. After a distinguished record in European campaigns, he was made (1758) second in command to Jeffery Amherst in the last of the French and Indian Wars. Through...

(Encyclopedia) Richardson, Dorothy M., 1882–1957, English novelist. Her important work is Pilgrimage (12 vol., 1915–38; omnibus ed. 1938), a novel that records in great detail the inner experience of one woman. ...

(Encyclopedia) Mann, James Robert, 1856–1922, American legislator, b. McLean co., Ill. A Chicago lawyer, he held many local offices before serving (1897–1922) as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Represen...

(Encyclopedia) McCracken, James Eugene, 1926–88, American dramatic tenor, b. Gary, Ind. He was noted for his robust voice, his intense singing style, and his prominent vibrato. McCracken made his debut (1952) at t...

(Encyclopedia) McDonnell, James Smith, 1899–1980, American aviation pioneer, b. Denver, B.S. Princeton, 1921, M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1925. He designed the Doodlebug (1929), a small monoplane, ...

(Encyclopedia) Orr, James Lawrence, 1822–73, American politician, b. Craytonville, S.C. He served in the South Carolina legislature (1844–48) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–59), where he was (1...

(Encyclopedia) Denver, James William, 1817–92, American territorial governor, army officer, and congressman, b. Winchester, Va. He commanded a company of Missouri volunteers in the Mexican War, then went (1850) to...

(Encyclopedia) Durant, William James, 1885–1981, American historian and essayist, b. North Adams, Mass. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1917 and published his doctoral dissertation, Philosophy and the Socia...