Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

378 results found

Goodrich, Leland Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Goodrich, Leland Matthew, 1899–1990, American political scientist, b. Lewiston, Maine, grad. Bowdoin College, 1920, and Harvard (M.A., 1921; Ph.D., 1925). He taught political science at Brown Univ. ...

disco

(Encyclopedia)disco, style of popular music that flourished during the 1970s. Originating in the United States, it evolved mainly from funk, soul, and salsa and became popular worldwide. Characterized by a heavy, t...

Porter, Horace

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Horace, 1837–1921, American soldier and diplomat, b. Huntingdon, Pa. In the Civil War he saw varied service, mostly as an ordnance officer, before becoming (1864) aide-de-camp to Gen. U. S. ...

Houston Symphony

(Encyclopedia)Houston Symphony. Founded in 1913 with 33 players, the orchestra reorganized in 1930 and presented its first full season of concerts in 1931. Among its important conductors have been Ernst Hoffmann (1...

Kinsey, Alfred Charles

(Encyclopedia)Kinsey, Alfred Charles kĭnˈzē [key], 1894–1956, American biologist, b. Hoboken, N.J., grad. Bowdoin College (B.S., 1916), Harvard (D.Sc., 1920). He was associated with the Univ. of Indiana from 1...

Washington, Martha

(Encyclopedia)Washington, Martha, 1731–1802, wife of George Washington, b. New Kent co., Va. The daughter of John Dandridge and Frances Jones Dandridge, she first married (1749) Daniel Parke Custis. She bore him ...

Moreau, Jeanne

(Encyclopedia)Moreau, Jeanne môrōˈ [key], 1928–2017, French movie actress, b. Paris, studied Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique. She joined the Comédie Française and was a successful stage actress befo...

Conrad, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Conrad, Joseph, 1857–1924, English novelist, b. Berdichev, Russia (now Berdychiv, Ukraine), originally named Jósef Teodor Konrad Walecz Korzeniowski. Born of Polish parents, he is considered one of...

Freedom Riders

(Encyclopedia)Freedom Riders, American civil-rights demonstrators who engaged (1961) in nonviolent protests against segregation of public interstate buses and terminals in the South. From the 1940s several federal ...

Nicholas, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas, Saint, patron of children and sailors, of Greece, Sicily, and Russia, and of many other places and persons. Little is known of him, but he is traditionally identified as a 4th-century bishop...