Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Seward, Anna sēˈwərd [key], 1742–1809, English poet, called the Swan of Lichfield. A member of the Lichfield literary group, which included Thomas Day and Erasmus Darwin, she was acquainted also ...

(Encyclopedia) Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

(Encyclopedia) Manning, William Thomas, 1866–1949, American Episcopal bishop of New York, b. England, received his collegiate and theological training at the Univ. of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. Ordained a priest (1...

(Encyclopedia) James, letter of the New Testament, traditionally classified among the Catholic, or General, Epistles. The James of its ascription is traditionally identified with St. James the Less. However, the nam...

(Encyclopedia) Watson, Thomas John, Jr., 1914–93, American industrialist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of Thomas John Watson, Sr., the founder of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), he joined the family b...

(Encyclopedia) Fraser, James Earle, 1876–1953, American sculptor, b. Winona, Minn., studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. The best known of his many works are The End of the Trail (Visalia, Calif.)...

(Encyclopedia) Meagher, Thomas Francis mär [key], 1823–67, Irish revolutionary and Union general in the American Civil War, b. Waterford, Ireland. A leader of the Young Ireland movement, he was arrested and conde...

(Encyclopedia) Lawrence, James, 1781–1813, American naval hero, b. Burlington, N.J. He entered the navy in 1798 and saw his first important service in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812, as commander of the Ho...

(Encyclopedia) Rainwater, James, 1917–86, American physicist, Ph.D. Columbia, 1946. After working on the Manhattan Project as a student during World War II, he became a professor of physics at Columbia in 1952. Hi...

(Encyclopedia) Nast, Thomas, 1840–1902, American caricaturist, illustrator, and painter, b. Landau, Germany. He was brought to the United States in 1846. He began his career as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illus...