Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) George William, 1597–1640, elector of Brandenburg (1619–40). Mild and irresolute, he was a Calvinist, yet he ruled a Lutheran people. He failed to turn the strategic position of Brandenburg to adv...

(Encyclopedia) Lescaze, William lĕskäzˈ [key], 1896–1969, American architect, born and trained in Switzerland. Emigrating to the United States in 1920, Lescaze became influential in introducing the new European...

(Encyclopedia) Rowley, William rouˈlē [key], 1585?–1642?, English playwright and actor. He collaborated with many noted dramatists, including Dekker, Ford, and Webster; his best work, notably The Changeling (162...

(Encyclopedia) Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore), d. 1093, king of Scotland (1057–93), son of Duncan I; successor to Macbeth (d. 1057). It took him some years after Macbeth's death to regain the boundaries of his fath...

(Encyclopedia) Beatty, David Beatty, 1st Earl bēˈtē [key], 1871–1936, British admiral. He served with distinction in Egypt and Sudan (1896–98) and in the Boxer Uprising (1900) in China. Made rear admiral in 1...

(Encyclopedia) Maclay, William məklāˈ [key], 1734–1804, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1789–91), b. Chester co., Pa. A lawyer and a provincial and state official before serving as Senator, he kept a journal,...

(Encyclopedia) Baziotes, William băzēōˈtēz [key], 1912–64, American painter, b. Pittsburgh. Baziotes's works of the 1940s and 50s are largely abstract images, usually with brooding, primitive qualities encomp...

(Encyclopedia) Bent, William, 1809–69, American frontiersman, b. St. Louis. One of the younger brothers of Charles Bent, he was for many years the manager of Bent's Fort, while Charles Bent lived mainly in Taos. W...

(Encyclopedia) Elphinstone, William ĕlˈfĭnstən, –stōnˌ [key], 1431–1514, Scottish prelate, founder of the Univ. of Aberdeen. He was trained in the law and was employed on many political missions before bec...

(Encyclopedia) Billings, William, 1746–1800, American hymn composer, b. Boston. A tanner by trade, he was one of the earliest American-born composers. He wrote popular hymns and sacred choruses of great vitality u...