Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

300 results found

Costa, António Luís Santos da

(Encyclopedia)Costa, António Luís Santos da, 1961–, Portuguese lawyer and political leader, b. Lisbon. A Socialist, he served on Lisbon's municipal council in the 1980s, then in the national assembly (1991–20...

Fernández Reyna, Leonel Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Fernández Reyna, Leonel Antonio, 1953–, Dominican political leader, president of the Dominican Republic (1996–2000, 2004–12), b. Santo Domingo. He spent his childhood in New York City and later...

Santa Anna, Antonio López de

(Encyclopedia)Santa Anna, Antonio López de äntōˈnyō lōˈpās dā sänˈtä äˈnä [key], 1794–1876, Mexican general and politician. He fought in the royalist army, but later joined Iturbide in the struggle...

Metastasio, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Metastasio, Pietro pyĕˈtrō mātästäˈzēō [key], 1698–1782, Italian poet and librettist, whose original name was Antonio Bonaventura Trapassi. A prodigy at poetic improvisation, he became cour...

Bartoli, Cecilia

(Encyclopedia)Bartoli, Cecilia chāchēlˈyä bärtōˈlē [key], 1966–, Italian mezzo-soprano, b. Rome. Bartoli debuted at Verona (1987), first performed in the United States at Lincoln Center (1990), and in 199...

Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de

(Encyclopedia)Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de pyĕr ōgüstăNˈ karôNˈ də bōmärshāˈ [key], 1732–99, French dramatist. Originally a watchmaker, he rose to wealth and position among the nobility. His...

Tell, William

(Encyclopedia)Tell, William, legendary Swiss patriot. According to legend, Tell was a native of Uri, one of the Swiss forest cantons. Gessler, the canton's Austrian bailiff, decreed that Swiss citizens must remove ...

Paisiello, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Paisiello, Giovanni jōvänˈnē päēzyĕlˈlō [key], 1740–1816, Italian composer. Paisiello served in St. Petersburg at the court of Catherine II from 1776 to 1784. He was also briefly Napoleon's...

Horne, Marilyn

(Encyclopedia)Horne, Marilyn, 1934–, American mezzo-soprano, b. Bradford, Pa. She established herself with her characterization of Marie in Alban Berg's Wozzeck at the San Francisco Opera in 1960. In 1970 she mad...

Browse by Subject