Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Montalembert, Charles Forbes, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Montalembert, Charles Forbes, comte de shärl fôrbz kôNt də môNtäläNbĕrˈ [key], 1810–70, French political leader and writer, b. London. He went to Paris (1830), where he became associated wi...

Mielziner, Jo

(Encyclopedia)Mielziner, Jo mēlzēˈnər [key], 1901–76, American theatrical scene designer, b. Paris. Mielziner made his Broadway design debut in 1924 with The Guardsman. He designed sets, and usually the light...

Pagnol, Marcel

(Encyclopedia)Pagnol, Marcel märsĕlˈ pänyôlˈ [key], 1895–1974, French dramatist and film director. Pagnol gained recognition for his trilogy of sentimental comedies set on the Marseilles waterfront—Marius...

rococo, in music

(Encyclopedia)rococo, in music, 18th-century reaction against the baroque style. Less formal and grandiose in structure, it was a graceful rather than a profound style, more hedonistic than venturesome. Extreme man...

Roland de la Platière, Jeanne Manon Philipon

(Encyclopedia)Roland de la Platière, Jeanne Manon Philipon (Mme Roland) rôläNˈ də lä plätyĕrˈ [key], 1754–93, French revolutionary. Imbued with classical ideals and with the philosophy of Rousseau, she ...

Benacerraf, Baruj

(Encyclopedia)Benacerraf, Baruj bäˈro͞okh bĕnăsˈərəf [key], 1920–2011, American immunologist, b. Caracas, Venezuela, grad. Columbia (B.S., 1942), Medical College of Virginia (M.D., 1945). Raised in Paris,...

Caffieri

(Encyclopedia)Caffieri Fr. käfyārēˈ, Ital. käf-fyāˈrē [key], French family of artists. Philippe Caffieri, 1634–1716, left Italy to enter the service of Louis XIV at the Gobelin factory. He and a son, Jacq...

book of hours

(Encyclopedia)book of hours, form of prayer book developed in the 14th cent. from the prayers of clerics appended to the main service. The subjects of the miniature illustrations (see miniature painting) were frequ...

Stoddart, James Fraser

(Encyclopedia)Stoddart, James Fraser, 1942–, British chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Edinburgh, 1966. He began his career at Sheffield Univ., England, in 1970, then moved to Birmingham Univ., England, in 1990, the Univ. ...

Piaf, Edith

(Encyclopedia)Piaf, Edith pēäfˈ [key], 1915–63, French cabaret singer, born as Edith Giovanna Gassion. She began to sing at 15 in cafés and on the streets of Paris and was soon engaged to sing in a cabaret. F...