Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Satterlee, Henry Yates, 1843–1908, American Episcopal bishop, b. New York City. In 1896 he was consecrated as the first bishop of the diocese of Washington, D.C. The National, or Washington, Cathedr...

(Encyclopedia) Germantown, residential section of NW Philadelphia. Settled by Dutch and Germans in 1683, Germantown became one of the earliest printing and publishing centers in the country. When the British occupie...

(Encyclopedia) Blair, Francis Preston, 1791–1876, American journalist and politician, b. Abingdon, Va. Through the Frankfort, Ky., journal Argus of Western America, which he edited with Amos Kendall, Blair was an ...

(Encyclopedia) Creeley, Robert, 1926–2005, American poet, b. Arlington, Mass. He lived in Asia, Europe, and Latin America and taught at various universities in the United States. With Charles Olson, he was a leadi...

(Encyclopedia) Beowulf bāˈəwo͝olf [key], oldest English epic, probably composed in the early 8th cent. by an Anglian bard in the vicinity of Northumbria. It survives in only one manuscript, written c.a.d. 1000 b...

(Encyclopedia) rainmaking, production of rain by artificial means now generally disregarded, though it is probable that rainmaking hastens or increases rainfall from clouds suitable for natural rainfall. Interest in...

(Encyclopedia) Corcoran, William Wilson kôrˈkərən [key], 1798–1888, American financier, philanthropist, and art collector, b. Georgetown, D.C. After becoming a successful banker, he retired in 1854 and devoted...

(Encyclopedia) Ward, John Quincy Adams, 1830–1910, American sculptor, b. Urbana, Ohio. He was trained under H. K. Brown, whom he assisted in the execution of the equestrian statue of George Washington in New York ...

(Encyclopedia) Stuart, Gilbert, 1755–1828, American portrait painter, b. North Kingstown, R.I., best known for his portraits of George Washington. Having shown an early talent for drawing, he became the pupil of C...

(Encyclopedia) Harding, Chester, 1792–1866, American portrait painter, b. Conway, Mass. He worked as an itinerant portrait painter long enough to enable him to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Design. Later he...