Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Sinclair, 1885–1951, American novelist, b. Sauk Centre, Minn., grad. Yale Univ., 1908. Probably the greatest satirist of his era, Lewis wrote novels that present a devastating picture of midd...

(Encyclopedia) Payton, Walter Jerry, 1954–99, American football player, b. Columbia, Miss. He played at Jackson State College (now Jackson State Univ.) in Mississippi before being drafted as a running back by the ...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Harper (Nelle Harper Lee), 1926–2016, American novelist, b. Monroeville, Ala. A member of an old Southern family and related to Robert E. Lee, she was a lifelong friend of Truman Capote. Lee at...

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Lennox (Lennox Claudis Lewis), 1965–, British-Canadian boxer. Born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, Lewis had a troubled childhood and followed his mother to Canada at the age of 12. ...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, William, 1739–95, American Revolutionary diplomat, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, and Richard H. Lee. He opened a business house in London in 1768 and later wa...

(Encyclopedia) Rawlings, Jerry John (Jeremiah John Rawlings), 1947–2020, Ghanaian political leader. Of Scottish and Ghanaian descent, Rawlings attended military schools throughout his early life, becoming a skille...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Richard, 1613?–1664, American colonist, founder of the Lee family of Virginia. A member of the Coton branch of the Lees of Shropshire, England, he immigrated (c.1642) to Virginia, settling firs...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835–1905, Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, b. “Clermont,” Fairfax co., Va.; nephew of Robert E. Lee. He campaigned against the Comanche in Texas and later w...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Spike (Shelton Jackson Lee), 1957–, African-American filmmaker, b. Atlanta, Ga. As a student at New York Univ., he won recognition with his gradu...

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Wyndham (Percy Wyndham Lewis) wĭnˈdəm [key], 1886–1957, English author and painter, born on a ship on the Bay of Fundy. With Ezra Pound, he was cofounder and editor of Blast (1914–15), a...