Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Moultrie, William mo͞olˈtrē [key], 1730–1805, American Revolutionary general, b. Charleston, S.C. He had fought against the Native Americans (1761) and served in the colonial assembly before the ...

(Encyclopedia) Claiborne, William klāˈbərn [key], c.1587–c.1677, Virginia colonist, b. Westmorland co., England. He emigrated to Virginia in 1621 as official surveyor and then served as secretary of state (1626...

(Encyclopedia) Proxmire, William (Edward William Proxmire), 1915–2005, U.S. senator (1957–89), b. Lake Forest, Ill. He worked in army counterintelligence during World War II and later entered politics, serving (...

(Encyclopedia) Empson, William, 1906–84, English critic and poet. His Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930), a study of the meanings of poetry, is a classic of modern literary criticism. It was followed by Some Versions...

(Encyclopedia) Breck, James Lloyd, 1818–76, American Episcopal clergyman and missionary, b. Philadelphia. In 1841 he established a seminary at Nashotah, Wis., with which he was connected until 1850, when he turned...

(Encyclopedia) Painter, William, 1540?–1594, English translator. His Palace of Pleasure (1566–67)—a collection of translations from Boccaccio, the Heptameron, and many other sources—was drawn upon by Shakesp...

(Encyclopedia) Jerrold, Douglas William jĕrˈəld [key], 1803–57, English humorist and playwright. His plays Blackeyed Susan (1829) and Time Works Wonders (1845) were highly successful. Jerrold is best known, how...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick William III, 1770–1840, king of Prussia (1797–1840), son and successor of Frederick William II. Well-intentioned but weak and vacillating, he endeavored to maintain neutrality in the Nap...

(Encyclopedia) Garretson, James Edmund, 1828–95, American pioneer in oral surgery, b. Wilmington, Del., M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1859. From 1874 he taught at Philadelphia Dental College (now part of Temple Univ...

(Encyclopedia) Dallas, Alexander James dălˈəs [key], 1759–1817, U.S. secretary of the treasury (1814–16), b. Jamaica, West Indies. He went (1783) to Philadelphia, practiced law, and was secretary of state (17...