Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Haydn, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Haydn, Michael hīˈdən [key], 1737–1806, Austrian composer, younger brother of Franz Joseph Haydn. Haydn, largely self-taught, was noted especially for his sacred music. He was a friend of Mozart...

Augustus III

(Encyclopedia)Augustus III, 1696–1763, king of Poland (1735–63) and, as Frederick Augustus II, elector of Saxony (1733–63); son of Augustus II, whom he succeeded in Saxony. Elected king of Poland by a minorit...

Scheele, Karl Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Scheele, Karl Wilhelm kärl vĭlˈhĕlm shāˈlə [key], 1742–86, Swedish chemist, b. Stralsund. He is known as the discoverer of many chemical substances. He was a pharmacist in Stockholm, in Uppsa...

Thomas, Edward Donnall

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Edward Donnall, 1920–2012, American surgeon, b. Mart, Tex., M.D. Harvard, 1946. At the Univ. of Washington from 1963 (emeritus from 1990), Thomas performed (1969) the first successful bone m...

Thomson, Sir George Paget

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, Sir George Paget, 1892–1975, English physicist; son of Sir Joseph John Thomson. He was professor of natural philosophy at the Univ. of Aberdeen (1922–30) and from 1930 to 1952 was profess...

Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th duke of

(Encyclopedia)Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th duke of kăvˈəndĭsh, dĕvˈənshĭr [key], 1833–1908, British statesman. He became marquess of Hartington in 1858. He frequently held office in Liberal ...

Alanbrooke, Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Alanbrooke, Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount ălˈənbro͝okˌ [key], 1883–1963, British general. He entered the field artillery in 1902 and served with distinction during World War I. In the 1930s...

Edel, Leon

(Encyclopedia)Edel, Leon (Joseph Leon Edel) ĕdˈəl, āˈdəl [key], 1907–97, American literary scholar and biographer, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. A professor at New York Univ. (1953–72) and the Univ. of Hawaii (1972�...

phlogiston theory

(Encyclopedia)phlogiston theory flōjĭsˈtŏn [key], hypothesis regarding combustion. The theory, advanced by J. J. Becher late in the 17th cent. and extended and popularized by G. E. Stahl, postulates that in all...

Rush, William

(Encyclopedia)Rush, William, 1756–1833, American sculptor, one of the earliest in the country, b. Philadelphia. His wood carvings, clay models, and figureheads were famous in their day. Of his other works, carved...