Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Vereshchagin, Vasily Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Vereshchagin, Vasily Vasilyevich vəsēˈlyē vəsēlˈyəvĭch vyĕrĭshchäˈgĭn [key], 1842–1904, Russian painter, soldier, and traveler. He is best known for his military pictures, which portra...

Union League Clubs

(Encyclopedia)Union League Clubs, in U.S. history, organizations formed throughout the North in the Civil War after the military defeats and Republican election losses of 1862. A convention at Cleveland (May, 1863)...

Winslow, John Ancrum

(Encyclopedia)Winslow, John Ancrum, 1811–73, American naval officer, b. Wilmington, N.C. Appointed a midshipman in 1827, he served in the Mexican War and was commissioned commander in 1855. In the Civil War, Wins...

Benedict XV

(Encyclopedia)Benedict XV, 1854–1922, pope (1914–22), an Italian (b. Genoa) named Giacomo della Chiesa; successor of Pius X. He was made archbishop of Bologna in 1907 and cardinal in 1914, two months before his...

Zeppelin, Ferdinand, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Zeppelin, Ferdinand, Graf von zĕpˈəlĭn, Ger. fĕrˈdēnänt gräf fən tsĕpˌəlēnˈ [key], 1838–1917, German army officer and airship inventor and builder. He entered the Prussian army in 185...

Biddle, George

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, George, 1885–1973, American painter and writer on art, b. Philadelphia. After studying abroad Biddle settled in the 1930s in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., where he devoted himself to paintings of ...

Iwo Jima

(Encyclopedia)Iwo Jima tō [key], volcanic island, c.8 sq mi (21 sq km), W Pacific, largest and most important of the Volcano Islands. Mt. Suribachi, 546 ft (166 m) high, on the south side of the island, is an exti...

Armstrong, John, 1758–1843, American army officer

(Encyclopedia)Armstrong, John, 1758–1843, American army officer, U.S. Secretary of War (1813–14), b. Carlisle, Pa.; son of John Armstrong, “hero of Kittanning.” In the American Revolution he was on the staf...

Antonescu, Ion

(Encyclopedia)Antonescu, Ion yôn äntônĕsˈko͞o [key], 1882–1946, Romanian marshal and dictator. He served in World War I and later became chief of staff, but he fell into disfavor with King Carol II because ...

Rodgers, John, 1773–1838, American naval officer

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, John, 1773–1838, American naval officer, b. Harford co., Md. He had seen years of merchant service before he became (1798) a lieutenant in the new U.S. navy. He served in the Tripolitan War...
 

Browse by Subject