Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Garnet, Henry Highland

(Encyclopedia)Garnet, Henry Highland gärˈnĭt [key], 1815–82, American abolitionist clergyman, b. Kent co., Md. Born a slave, he escaped in 1824 and was educated at the Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, N.Y. He was...

Brahmo Samaj

(Encyclopedia)Brahmo Samaj bräˈmō səmäjˈ [key] [Hindi,=society of God], Indian religious movement, founded in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1828 by Rammohun Roy. It promoted a monotheistic, reformed Hinduism with str...

Johnson, James Weldon

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, James Weldon, 1871–1938, American author, b. Jacksonville, Fla., educated at Atlanta Univ. (B.A., 1894) and at Columbia. Johnson was the first African American to be admitted to the Florida...

coonhound, black-and-tan

(Encyclopedia)coonhound, black-and-tan, breed of large hound developed in the United States. It stands from 23 to 27 in. (58–69 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 70 to 85 lb (32–38 kg). The dense, short ...

Lee, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Peggy, 1920–2002, American singer and songwriter, b. Jamestown, N.D., as Norma Deloris Egstrom. Lee became famous for her singular voice—sexy, subtle, simultaneously smoky and cool—and her ...

Gielgud, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Gielgud, Sir John (Arthur John Gielgud) gĭlˈgo͝od [key], 1904–2000, English actor, director, and producer. A grandnephew of Ellen Terry, Gielgud made his debut at the Old Vic in 1921. His intelli...

Wen Jiabao

(Encyclopedia)Wen Jiabao wĕnˈ jyäˈbouˈ [key], 1942–, Chinese political leader, b. Tianjin. Originally a geologist, he worked for the Gansu provincial geological bureau (1968–82), where he was the head of i...

Lu Xun

(Encyclopedia)Lu Xun or Lu Hsün both: lo͞oˈshünˈ [key], 1881–1936, Chinese writer, pen name of Chou Shu-jen. In 1902, he traveled to Japan on a government scholarship, eventually enrolling at Sendai Medical ...

record player

(Encyclopedia)record player or phonograph, device for reproducing sound that has been recorded as a spiral, undulating groove on a disk. This disk is known as a phonograph record, or simply a record (see sound reco...

polyphony

(Encyclopedia)polyphony pəlĭfˈənē [key], music whose texture is formed by the interweaving of several melodic lines. The lines are independent but sound together harmonically. Contrasting terms are homophony, ...