Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Gregory, Dick (Richard Claxton Gregory), 1932–2017, African-American civil-rights activist and comedian, b. St. Louis, Mo. A biting satirist who used the struggle for civil rights and other topical ...

(Encyclopedia) Northumberland, Henry Percy, 4th earl of, 1446–89, English nobleman. When his father, the 3d earl, was killed fighting in the Lancastrian army at Towton (1461), he was imprisoned by Edward IV and th...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 1734–97, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Arthur, Richard H., and William Lee. Whi...

(Encyclopedia) Newman, Ernest, 1868–1959, English music critic. He joined the staff of the Manchester Guardian in 1905, the Birmingham Daily Post in 1906, the London Observer in 1919, and The Times of London in 19...

(Encyclopedia) Marie Byrd Land, area of W Antarctica, E of the Ross Shelf Ice and the Ross Sea and S of the Amundsen Sea; the Ford Ranges lie in the northwest part. The region was discovered and claimed for the Unit...

(Encyclopedia) Destinn, Emmy (Ema Kittl) dĕsˈtĭn [key], 1878–1930, Czechoslovakian soprano. She debuted in Berlin in 1898 before singing the title role in the London production of Madame Butterfly in 1905. She ...

(Encyclopedia) American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (A.S.P.C.A.), chartered in 1866 in New York by Henry Bergh to shelter homeless animals, to assist farmers in caring for their livestock, and t...

(Encyclopedia) Stratford, home of the Lee family, overlooking the Potomac River, E Va., SE of Fredericksburg. A national shrine dedicated in 1935, the site was purchased in 1716 by Thomas Lee, who built the mansion ...

(Encyclopedia) Benson, Robert Hugh, 1871–1914, English author and clergyman; 4th son of Archbishop Benson. He was converted to Roman Catholicism in 1903 and ordained the next year. In 1911, as a monsignor, he beca...

(Encyclopedia) Gervase of Canterbury jûrˈvāz, jərvāzˈ [key], d. c.1210, English chronicler. A monk of Christ Church, Cambridge, he wrote an account of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard I. His Chroni...