Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

391 results found

Kyd, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Kyd or Kid, Thomas, 1558–94, English dramatist, b. London. The son of a scrivener, he evidently followed his father's profession for a few years. In the 1580s he began writing plays. His literary fa...

Brees, Drew

(Encyclopedia)Brees, Drew (Andrew Christopher Brees) brēz [key], 1979–, American football player, b. Austin, Tex. At Purdue in 2000 he quarterbacked the Boilermakers to the Big 10 championship (shared with Michi...

Temple, the

(Encyclopedia)Temple, the, district of the City of London, England. The name refers to two of the four Inns of Court, the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple. The Temple was originally the English seat of the famous...

Sebastiano del Piombo

(Encyclopedia)Sebastiano del Piombo sābästyäˈnō dĕl pyômˈbō [key], c.1485–1547, Italian painter of the Venetian school, whose real name was Sebastiano Luciani. Although he was trained by Giovanni Bellini...

Sargent, Thomas John

(Encyclopedia)Sargent, Thomas John, 1943–, American economist, b. Pasadena, Calif., Ph.D. Harvard (1968). He has been on the faculty at the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1970–71), Univ. of Minnesota (1971–87), Univ....

mystery

(Encyclopedia)mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

Bohemond I

(Encyclopedia)Bohemond I bōˈhəmŏnd [key], c.1056–1111, prince of Antioch (1099–1111), a leader in the First Crusade (see Crusades); elder son of Robert Guiscard. With his father he fought (1081–85) agains...

Dukakis, Olympia

(Encyclopedia) Dukakis, Olympia, 1931-2021, American actress, b. Lowell, Ma., Boston Univ. (B.A., M.F.A.). Dukakis’s parents were Greek immigrants. After ...

atheism

(Encyclopedia)atheism āˈthē-ĭzˌəm [key], denial of the existence of God or gods and of any supernatural existence, to be distinguished from agnosticism, which holds that the existence cannot be proved. The te...

Tower of London

(Encyclopedia)Tower of London, ancient fortress in London, England, just east of the City and on the north bank of the Thames, covering about 13 acres (5.3 hectares). Now used mainly as a museum, it was a royal res...