Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

364 results found

Orestes, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Orestes, in Greek mythology, the only son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon and brother of Electra and Iphigenia. After the slaying of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, Orestes, still a boy, was se...

Wiesenthal, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Wiesenthal, Simon vēˈsĕntäl [key], 1908–2005, Austrian-Jewish Nazi hunter, b. Butschatsch, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Buchach, Ukraine). He received (1932) an architectural engineering degree...

Carruthers, George Richard

(Encyclopedia) Carruthers, George Richard, 1939-2020, African-American astrophysicist, b. Cincinnati, OH, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (BS, 1961; MS, nuclear...

Stewart, Martha

(Encyclopedia)Stewart, Martha, 1941–, American entrepeneur and tastemaker, b. Jersey City, N.J., as Martha Helen Kostyra, grad. Barnard College (1963). Moving to Westport, Conn., she started (1976) a successful c...

Morse, John Torrey

(Encyclopedia)Morse, John Torrey, 1840–1937, American lawyer and biographer, b. Boston. Admitted to the bar in 1862, he practiced law in Boston until 1880, when he turned all his attention to writing. With Henry ...

Richardson, William Adams

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, William Adams, 1821–96, American jurist and U.S. secretary of the Treasury, b. Tyngsboro, Mass. Admitted to the bar in 1846, he helped to codify the statute law of Massachusetts in 1855....

Dix, Morgan

(Encyclopedia)Dix, Morgan, 1827–1908, American Episcopal clergyman, b. New York City; son of John A. Dix. He was rector of Trinity Church in New York City from 1862 to 1908. Among his writings are Memoirs of John...

Brown, Mather

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Mather, 1761–1831, American portrait and historical painter, b. Boston. He studied under Benjamin West in London and continued to work in England. His portraits include those of George IV (Bu...

Drew, Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Drew, Daniel, 1797–1879, American railroad speculator, b. Carmel, N.Y. He became a cattle dealer in early life and by 1834 was successful enough to engage in the steamboat business on the Hudson, wh...

Pickering, Timothy

(Encyclopedia)Pickering, Timothy, 1745–1829, American political leader and Revolutionary War army officer, b. Salem, Mass. He was admitted to the bar (1768) and played an active part in pre-Revolutionary activiti...
 

Browse by Subject