Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

339 results found

Bishop, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911–79, American poet, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Vassar, 1934. During the 1950s and 60s she lived in Brazil, eventually returning to her native New England, where she taught at ...

Frank, Leonhard

(Encyclopedia)Frank, Leonhard lāˈônhärt frängk [key], 1882–1961, German expressionist writer. He gained acclaim with his first novel, The Robber Band (1914, tr. 1928), and it was followed by such works as Th...

Galesburg

(Encyclopedia)Galesburg, city (2020 pop. 30,052), seat of Knox co., W Ill., in a farm, livestock, and coal area; chartered 1841. A trade, rail, and industrial center,...

Abbe, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Abbe, Ernst ĕrnst äˈbə [key], 1840–1905, German physicist. He was appointed professor at the Univ. of Jena in 1870 and director of its astronomical and meteorological observatories in 1878. From...

Bitter, Karl Theodore Francis

(Encyclopedia)Bitter, Karl Theodore Francis, 1867–1915, American sculptor, b. Austria. Having done some decorative modeling in Austria, Bitter soon found work when he came to the United States in 1889. His work f...

Bacon, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Bacon, Peggy, 1895–1987, American illustrator, caricaturist, and etcher, b. Ridgefield, Conn. She illustrated more than 60 books including works by George Ade, Carl Sandburg, and Louis Untermeyer, a...

Mendelssohn, Felix

(Encyclopedia)Mendelssohn, Felix (Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn) mĕnˈdəlsən, Ger. yäˈkôp lo͝otˈvĭkh fāˈlĭks mĕnˈdəls-zōnˌ [key], 1809–47, German composer; grandson of the Jewish philosopher Mos...

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...

nuclear winter

(Encyclopedia)nuclear winter, theory holding that the smoke and dust produced by a large nuclear war would result in a prolonged period of cold on the earth. The earliest version of the theory, which was put forwar...

Beck, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Beck, Ludwig lo͞otˈvĭkh bĕk [key], 1880–1944, German general, leader of resistance to Hitler. A highly cultivated career soldier, he served on the general staff during World War I and by 1933 ha...