Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Howard, Oliver Otis, 1830–1909, Union general in the Civil War, founder of Howard Univ., b. Leeds, Maine, grad. Bowdoin College, 1850, and West Point, 1854. Made a brigadier general of volunteers (S...

(Encyclopedia) Webster, Noah, 1758–1843, American lexicographer and philologist, b. West Hartford, Conn., grad. Yale, 1778. After serving in the American Revolution, Webster practiced law in Hartford. His Grammati...

(Encyclopedia) Murray, Pauli, 1910–1985, American lawyer, priest, and activist, b. Baltimore, S.J.D. Yale University, 1965, MDiv, General Theological Seminary, 1976....

(Encyclopedia) Pierce, Franklin, 1804–69, 14th President of the United States (1853–57), b. Hillsboro, N.H., grad. Bowdoin College, 1824. Admitted to the bar in 1827, he entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat...

(Encyclopedia) Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh Auden) ôˈdən [key], 1907–73, Anglo-American poet, b. York, England, educated at Oxford. A versatile, vigorous, and technically skilled poet, Auden ranks among the major ...

(Encyclopedia) pasta, generic name for thin pieces of hardened, unleavened dough that are molded into various shapes and boiled, not baked. Pasta is commonly associated with Italian cuisine, though similar wheat flo...

(Encyclopedia) Laval, François Xavier de fräNswäˈ zävyāˈ də lävälˈ [key], 1623–1708, French prelate in Canada, first bishop of Quebec. Of noble family (his family name in full was Laval-Montmorency), he...

(Encyclopedia) Niebuhr, Reinhold rīnˈhōld nēˈbo͝or [key], 1892–1971, American religious and social thinker, b. Wright City, Mo. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, he served (1915–28) as pastor of Bethel E...

(Encyclopedia) Herrick, Robert, 1591–1674, English poet, generally considered the greatest of the Cavalier poets. Although he was born in London, he spent most of his childhood in Hampton. In 1607 he became appren...

(Encyclopedia) Veracruz, city (1990 pop. 303,152), Veracruz state, E central Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico. Rivaling Tampico as the country's main port, it is also the commercial and industrial center of an importan...