Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Gray, Robert, 1755–1806, American sea captain, discoverer of the Columbia River, b. Tiverton, R.I. He probably served in the Continental navy in the American Revolution. In 1787 he and Capt. John Ke...

(Encyclopedia) Londonderry, Robert Stewart, 2d marquess of: see Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount. ...

(Encyclopedia) Millikan, Robert Andrews mĭlˈĭkən [key], 1868–1953, American physicist and educator, b. Morrison, Ill., grad. Oberlin College, 1891, Ph.D. Columbia, 1895, studied in Germany. He taught (1896–1...

(Encyclopedia) Merton, Robert Carhart, 1944–, American economist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970. He has taught at MIT (1970–88, 2010–) and Harvard (1988–2010). Merton in...

(Encyclopedia) Childers, Robert Erskine chĭlˈdərz [key], 1870–1922, Irish politician and author. Born into a Protestant family, he was a clerk in the House of Commons (1895–1910). Gradually becoming convinced...

(Encyclopedia) Rhett, Robert Barnwell, 1800–1876, American politician, b. Beaufort, S.C. His family changed its name from Smith to Rhett (after a colonial ancestor) in 1837. A lawyer, he was a state legislator, st...

(Encyclopedia) Robert of Geneva, d. 1394, Genevan churchman, antipope (1378–94; see Schism, Great) with the name Clement VII. He was archbishop of Cambrai (1368) and was created (1371) a cardinal. He was subsequen...

(Encyclopedia) Schomburgk, Sir Robert Hermann shŏmˈbərk [key], 1804–65, English traveler and explorer, b. Germany. Under the direction of the Royal Geographical Society he went on a trip of botanical and geogra...

(Encyclopedia) Slipher, Vesto Melvin slīˈfər [key], 1875–1969, American astronomer, b. Mulberry, Ind. From 1901 he was at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Ariz., where he served as director (1917–54). Much of h...

(Encyclopedia) Merrifield, Robert Bruce, 1921–2006, American chemist, b. Fort Worth, Tex., Ph.D. Univ. of California at Los Angeles, 1949. As a researcher at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (later R...