Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Fries, Elias Magnus ĕlēˈäs mängˈnəs frēs [key], 1794–1878, Swedish botanist. He taught (1834–59) at the Univ. of Uppsala. Fries originated the modern classification of fungi and lichens. H...

(Encyclopedia) Sarkis, Elias, 1924–85, president of Lebanon (1976–82). He was governor (1967–76) of Lebanon's central bank and was elected president by parliament during the bitter Lebanese civil war (1975–7...

(Encyclopedia) Steele, Joel Dorman, 1836–86, American educator and textbook writer, b. Lima, N.Y., grad. Genesee College (now Syracuse Univ.), 1858. While serving as principal of the Elmira (N.Y.) Free Academy (18...

(Encyclopedia) Ashmole, Elias ăshmōˈlēən [key], the first such public institution in England. He later donated his library to Oxford, and the whole was housed in a building erected by Sir Christopher Wren. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Canetti, Elias kənĕtˈē [key], 1905–94, English novelist and essayist, b. Ruschuk (now Ruse), Bulgaria. He came from a Sephardic Jewish background, spent most of his early years in Vienna, and, f...

(Encyclopedia) Hicks, Elias, 1748–1830, American Quaker preacher, b. Hempstead, N.Y. He worked on his Long Island farm between his preaching tours, which established his reputation as one of the most able Quaker p...

(Encyclopedia) Loomis, Elias, 1811–89, American physicist and mathematician, b. Willington, Conn., grad. Yale, 1830. He taught at Western Reserve (1837–44), at New York Univ. (1844–47, 1849–60), and at Yale ...

(Encyclopedia) Saint Elias Mountains, section of the Coast Ranges, SW Yukon, Canada, and SE Alaska, rising to 19,551 ft (5,959 m) at Mt. Logan, Canada's highest peak. Kluane National Park is there. ...

(Encyclopedia) Wrangell–Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, at the convergence of the Chugach, Wrangell, and St. Elias mts., SW Alaska. The park (8,323,618 acres/3,369,856 hectares) contains Mt. Saint Elias (1...

(Encyclopedia) Stern, David Joel, 1942–2020, American basketball executive, b. New York City. A lawyer, he worked (1966–78) as outside counsel to the National Basketball Association (NBA) before he became NBA ge...