Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Muir, John, 1838–1914, American naturalist, b. Dunbar, Scotland, studied at the Univ. of Wisconsin. He came to the United States in 1849 and settled in California in 1868. In recognition of his effo...

(Encyclopedia) Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

(Encyclopedia) Cassavetes, John 1929–89, American film actor and director, a pioneer of independent filmmaking, b. New York City. The son of Greek immigrants, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and ...

(Encyclopedia) Mason, John, c.1600–1672, American colonial military commander, b. England. He was an army officer before emigrating (c.1630) to Massachusetts and then (1635) to Windsor, Conn. When the Pequot threa...

(Encyclopedia) Butterfield, John, 1801–69, American stagecoach proprietor and expressman, b. near Albany, N.Y. Beginning as a stage driver out of Albany, he rose to ownership of a large network of stage lines. He ...

(Encyclopedia) Cheever, John, 1912–82, American author, b. Quincy, Mass. His expulsion from Thayer Academy was the subject of his first short story, published by the New Republic when he was 17. Many of his subseq...

(Encyclopedia) Holmes, John Haynes hōmz [key], 1879–1964, American clergyman, b. Philadelphia, grad. Harvard, 1902, and Harvard Divinity School, 1904. For 42 years (1907–49) he was minister of the Community Chu...

(Encyclopedia) Simcoe, John Graves sĭmˈkō [key], 1752–1806, British army officer, first governor of Upper Canada (Ontario). He served with the British in the American Revolution. Upon the division of Quebec int...

(Encyclopedia) Quitman, John Anthony, 1798–1858, American general and politician, b. Rhinebeck, N.Y. He settled in Natchez, Miss., where he practiced law and held a series of political offices, serving in the stat...

(Encyclopedia) Hastings, Thomas, 1860–1929, American architect, b. New York City, grad. École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He worked in the office of McKim, Mead, and White, New York City, and in 1886 commenced practic...