Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lewis, John Robert

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, John Robert, 1940–2020, African-American politician and civil-rights leader, b. near Troy, Ala., B.A. American Baptist Theological Seminary, 19...

Lowry, Malcolm

(Encyclopedia)Lowry, Malcolm (Clarence Malcolm Lowry) louˈrē [key], 1909–57, English novelist, b. New Brighton, Wirral. Lowry is widely recognized as an important writer who effectively articulated the spiritua...

Mead, Margaret

(Encyclopedia)Mead, Margaret, 1901–78, American anthropologist, b. Philadelphia, grad. Barnard, 1923, Ph.D. Columbia, 1929. In 1926 she became assistant curator, in 1942 associate curator, and from 1964 to 1969 s...

Marcus Aurelius

(Encyclopedia)Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus) märˈkəs ôrēˈlēəs [key], 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus. He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pi...

bar, the

(Encyclopedia)bar, the, originally, the rail that enclosed the judge in a court; hence, a court or a system of courts. The persons qualified and authorized to conduct the trial of cases are also known collectively ...

Ravel, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ravel, Maurice mōrēsˈ rävĕlˈ [key], 1875–1937, French composer, b. in the Pyrenees. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889, where he was later a student of Fauré. Ravel became a leading ex...

Tiananmen Square

(Encyclopedia)Tiananmen Square, large public square in Beijing, China, on the southern edge of the Inner or Tatar City. The square, named for its Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen), contains the monument to the her...

Shannon, Claude Elwood

(Encyclopedia)Shannon, Claude Elwood, 1916–2001, American applied mathematician, b. Gaylord, Michigan. A student of Vannevar Bush at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he was the first to propose th...

Chen Duxiu

(Encyclopedia)Chen Duxiu or Ch'en Tu-hsiu both: chŭn do͞o-shyo͞o [key], 1879–1942, Chinese educator and Communist party leader. He was active in the republican revolution of 1911 and was forced to flee to Japa...

degree, academic

(Encyclopedia)degree, academic, title bestowed upon a student on the fulfillment of certain requirements or given as an honor to an eminent person. The practice of awarding degrees originated in the universities of...

Browse by Subject