Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Welles, Gideon wĕlz [key], 1802–78, American statesman, b. Glastonbury, Conn. He was (1826–36) editor and part owner of the Hartford Times, one of the first New England papers to support Andrew J...

(Encyclopedia) Wodehouse, P. G. (Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse) wo͝odˈhousˌ [key], 1881–1975, English-American novelist and humorist. After a short period, first working at a bank and then writing for a London...

(Encyclopedia) Sulzberger, Arthur Hays, 1891–1968, American newspaper publisher, b. New York City. He joined the New York Times in 1918 and assisted his father-in-law, the publisher Adolph S. Ochs, succeeding Ochs...

(Encyclopedia)  Gaye, Marvin, 1939-1984, African-American singer and songwriter, b. Washington, D.C., as Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. Gaye’s father was a minister, and Gaye...

(Encyclopedia) George, Henry, 1839–97, American economist, founder of the single tax movement, b. Philadelphia. Of a poor family, his formal education was cut short at 14, and in 1857 he emigrated to California; t...

(Encyclopedia) Keating, Paul, 1944–, Australian politician. A trade-union official and member of the Labor party, he was first elected to parliament in 1969. As federal treasurer (treasury minister) from 1983 to 1...

(Encyclopedia) Massinger, Philip măsˈənjər [key], 1583–1640, English dramatist, b. Salisbury. He studied at Oxford (1602–6) but left without a degree, apparently to go to London to write plays. A prolific wr...

(Encyclopedia) Duncan Smith, Iain, 1954–, British political leader, b. Edinburgh. Educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, leaving the army for a series o...

(Encyclopedia) Brassaï bräsīˈ [key], 1899–1984, French photographer, b. Brassó, Hungary (now Braşov, Romania), as Gyula Halász. Particularly known for his nightime photographs of Paris, he studied art in Hu...

(Encyclopedia) Harris, Kamala Devi käˈmələ dāˈvē [key], 1964–, Vice President of the United States (2021–), b. Oakland, Calif., B.A. Howard Univ., 1986, J.D. Univ. of California, Hastings, 1989. The child...