Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

digital art

(Encyclopedia)digital art, contemporary art in which computer technology is used in a wide variety of ways to make distinctive works. Digital art was pioneered in the 1970s but only came into its own as a viable ar...

Russell, Lillian

(Encyclopedia)Russell, Lillian, 1861–1922, American singer and actress, b. Clinton, Iowa. Her original name was Helen Louise Leonard. She first appeared in light opera in 1879. In the early 1880s her introduction...

Latin America

(Encyclopedia)Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Arge...

Harris, Townsend

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Townsend, 1804–78, American merchant and diplomat, b. Sandy Hill, N.Y. A merchant in New York City for many years, he became (1846) a member of the board of education, served as its presiden...

Gilded Age

(Encyclopedia)Gilded Age, a term used to describe a period in United States history—from roughly 1870 to 1900—when the wealthy elite consisted of industrialists w...

Corbett, James John

(Encyclopedia)Corbett, James John kôrˈbət [key], 1866–1933, American boxer, b. San Francisco. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett won (1892) the heavyweight boxing championship from John L. Sullivan at New Orleans and...

Carlisle Indian School

(Encyclopedia)Carlisle Indian School, in Carlisle, Pa., the first federally supported school for Native Americans to be established off a reservation; it was founded in 1879 by Richard Henry Pratt. Its football tea...

Alliance

(Encyclopedia)Alliance. 1 City, seat of Box Butte co., NW Nebr., in the High Plains; founded 1887 as Grand Lake, renamed and inc. 1888. Located in a farming and ranching region, it is a shipping c...

Saarinen, Eliel

(Encyclopedia)Saarinen, Eliel säˈrĭnĕn [key], 1873–1950, Finnish-American architect and city planner, resident of the United States after 1923. In Finland, Saarinen's most celebrated building was the railway...

blue jay

(Encyclopedia)blue jay, common name for a familiar bird (Cyanocitta cristata) of central and E North America, allied to the crow, the raven, and the magpie, belonging to the family Corvidae. Almost a foot (30 cm) l...

Browse by Subject