Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Calder, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Calder, Alexander kôlˈdər [key], 1898–1976, American sculptor, b. Philadelphia; son of Alexander Stirling Calder and grandson of Alexander Mine Calder, prominent sculptors. Among the most innovat...

Jívaro

(Encyclopedia)Jívaro hēˈvärō [key], linguistic stock of Native South Americans in Ecuador. The peoples, N of the Marañón River and E of the Andes, engage in farming, hunting, fishing, and weaving. They have ...

Agnew, Spiro Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Agnew, Spiro Theodore spērˈō [key], 1918–96, 39th Vice President of the United States (1969–73), b. Baltimore. Admitted to the bar in 1949, he entered politics as a Republican and was elected (...

Berry, Wendell Erdman

(Encyclopedia)Berry, Wendell Erdman, 1934–, American farmer, environmentalist, and writer, b. Henry co., Ky., grad. Univ of Kentucky (B.A., 1956; M.A., 1957). He taught at various colleges including his alma mate...

Modigliani, Amedeo

(Encyclopedia)Modigliani, Amedeo ämādĕˈō mōdēlyäˈnē [key], 1884–1920, Italian painter, b. Livorno. In Paris after 1906, Modigliani first worked as a sculptor and was influenced by the works of Constanti...

Stickley, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Stickley, Gustav, 1858–1942, American furniture designer, b. Osceola, Wis. Probably the best-known American associated with the arts and crafts movement, Stickley ran a Binghamton, N.Y., chair facto...

rap music

(Encyclopedia)rap music or hip-hop, African-American popular music style that originated in the mid-to-late ‘70s, which incorporates DJing, MCing, dance, and fashion. See studies by M. Costello and D....

Feynman, Richard Phillips

(Encyclopedia)Feynman, Richard Phillips fīnˈmən [key], 1918–88, American physicist, b. New York City, B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1939, Ph.D. Princeton, 1942. From 1942 to 1945 he worked on the...

Kermode, Sir Frank

(Encyclopedia)Kermode, Sir Frank kärˈmədē [key], 1919–2010, English critic, b. Douglas, Isle of Man. Educated at Liverpool Univ. (grad. 1940) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War II, Kermode wa...

Marvell, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Marvell, Andrew märˈvəl [key], 1621–78, one of the English metaphysical poets. Educated at Cambridge, he worked as a clerk, traveled abroad, and returned to serve as tutor to Lord Fairfax's daugh...

Browse by Subject