Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, William Samuel, 1727–1819, American political leader and president of Columbia College (1787–1800), b. Stratford, Conn. A lawyer in Connecticut, he soon became a leading figure in the col...

(Encyclopedia) Robertson, Pat (Marion Gordon Robertson), 1930–2023, American evangelist and politician, b. Lexington, Va. The son of U.S. Senator A. Willis Robertson...

(Encyclopedia) Rogers, Will (William Penn Adair Rogers), 1879–1935, American humorist, b. Oolagah, Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma). In his youth he worked as a cowboy in Oklahoma, and after traveling over the w...

(Encyclopedia) Ryder, Donald P., , 1926-2021, African-American architect, b. Springfield, Oh., Univ. of Illinois (BA, 1951). Ryder was raised in Dayton, Ohio. He serve...

(Encyclopedia)  Schiff, Adam Bennett, 1960- , American politician, b. Framingham, Ma., Stanford Univ. (B.A., 1982), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1985). ...

(Encyclopedia) Deisenhofer, Johann dīˈzənhōˌfər [key], 1943–, German chemist, Ph.D. Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, 1974. He was a researcher at the Max Planck Institute until 1987 when he joined the ...

(Encyclopedia) Harris, Patricia Roberts, 1924–85, U.S. government official, b. Mattoon, Ill. A lawyer who was active in the Democratic party, she was a law professor and dean at Howard Univ. during the 1960s and b...

(Encyclopedia) Wilson, James, 1836–1920, American agriculturist and cabinet officer, b. Ayrshire, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States and settled (1851) in Connecticut, later moving (1855) to Tama co., Iow...

(Encyclopedia) Dahl, Roald däl [key], 1916–90, British writer known for inventive, often macabre children's books and horror-tinged adult fiction. Dahl spurned a university education in favor of world travel, jo...

(Encyclopedia) Work Projects Administration (WPA), former U.S. government agency, established in 1935 by executive order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the Works Progress Administration; it was renamed th...