Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

200 results found

Calvino, Italo

(Encyclopedia)Calvino, Italo ĭtəlō călvēˈnō [key], 1923–85, Italian novelist. Calvino was one of the most popular novelists of the 20th cent. Although loneliness is an essential condition in his writings, ...

Büchner, Georg

(Encyclopedia)Büchner, Georg gāˈôrk bükhˈnər [key], 1813–37, German dramatist. He was a student of medicine and a political agitator. He died at the age of 24, leaving a powerful drama, Danton's Death (183...

tarots

(Encyclopedia)tarots târˈōz [key], playing cards that are used mainly for fortunetelling, sometimes called “the book of divination of the Gypsies.” It is generally believed that the cards were introduced int...

Timothy , epistles in the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)Timothy, two letters of the New Testament. With Titus they comprise the Pastoral Epistles, in which St. Paul addresses his coworkers as the guardians and transmitters of his teaching. Modern scholars ...

Durham, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Durham dûrˈăm [key], city (2020 pop. 324,833), seat of Durham co., N central N.C., in the ...

Emmet, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Emmet, Robert, 1778–1803, Irish nationalist and revolutionary. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but left in 1798 because of his nationalist sympathies. In 1800 he went to France, where with ex...

Patchett, Ann

(Encyclopedia)Patchett, Ann, 1963–, American author, b. Los Angeles, B.A. Sarah Lawrence College, 1984, M.F.A Univ. of Iowa, 1987. In her twenties she was a writer at Seventeen magazine, wrote freelance essays fo...

Masham, Abigail, Lady

(Encyclopedia)Masham, Abigail, Lady măshˈəm [key], d. 1734, favorite of Queen Anne of England. Her maiden name was Abigail Hill. A plain, intelligent person, she became (1704) bedchamber woman to the queen throu...

Rachel, French actress

(Encyclopedia)Rachel ālēˈzä fālēksˈ [key], 1821–58, French actress, b. Switzerland. Exploited by her father in her childhood, she sang in the streets with her sister Sarah. In Paris, showing great promise ...

Anne, queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Anne, 1665–1714, queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1702–7), later queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1707–14), daughter of James II and Anne Hyde; successor to William III. Queen Anne ...