Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

265 results found

Rehnquist, William Hubbs

(Encyclopedia)Rehnquist, William Hubbs rĕnˈkwĭst [key], 1924–2005, American public official, 16th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1986–2005), b. Milwaukee, Wis., as William Donald Rehnquist. After r...

Minnesota, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Minnesota, river, 332 mi (534 km) long, rising in Big Stone Lake at the W boundary of Minnesota and flowing SE to Mankato, then NE to the Mississippi S of Minneapolis. Earlier called the St. Peter or ...

Brownell, Herbert, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Brownell, Herbert, Jr. brounĕlˈ [key], 1904–96, U.S. attorney general (1953–57), b. Peru, Nebr. A lawyer in private practice in New York City (1927–53, 1957–89), he became active in the Repu...

Glens Falls

(Encyclopedia)Glens Falls, city (2020 pop. 14,830), Warren co., E central N.Y., in the foothills of the Adirondack Mts. and on the Hudson River; settled 1762, inc. as...

Vanderbilt University

(Encyclopedia)Vanderbilt University, at Nashville, Tenn.; coeducational; chartered 1872 as Central Univ. of Methodist Episcopal Church, founded and renamed 1873, opened 1875 through a gift from Cornelius Vanderbilt...

Dworkin, Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Dworkin, Andrea, 1946–2019, American feminist writer and activist, b. Camden, N.J., B.A. Bennington College, 1968. A fierce opponent of pornography and of violence against women, she is best known f...

Francken

(Encyclopedia)Francken frängk [key], family of Flemish painters in the 16th and 17th cent. Prominent members were Hieronymus Francken, c.1540–1610, student of Frans Floris, who worked mainly in Antwerp in a clas...

Arafat

(Encyclopedia)Arafat äräfäˈ [key], granite hill, Saudi Arabia, near Mecca. The hill was an ancient pagan sanctuary and is shrouded in many legends. It is a site for prayers during the hajj, the annual Muslim pi...

Maistre, Xavier de

(Encyclopedia)Maistre, Xavier de də mĕsˈtrə [key], 1763–1852, French writer, b. Savoy; brother of Joseph de Maistre. He served in the Russian army and lived most of his life in St. Petersburg. His works are ...

Lorenzo di Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Lorenzo di Pietro pyāˈtrō [key], c.1412–1480, Sienese painter, sculptor, and goldsmith, called Il Vecchietta. He painted a group of frescoes and a relic press in the hospital at Siena; four ceili...