Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

anti-hero

(Encyclopedia)anti-hero, principal character of a modern literary or dramatic work who lacks the attributes of the traditional protagonist or hero. The anti-hero's lack of courage, honesty, or grace, his weaknesses...

Allison, Bobby

(Encyclopedia)Allison, Bobby (Robert Arthur Allison), 1937–, American auto racing driver, b. Miami, Fla. The hard-charging Allison drove the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing circuit from 1965 to 198...

Tintagel

(Encyclopedia)Tintagel tĭntāˈjəl [key], small town, Cornwall, SW England. It is S of Tintagel Head, a promontory connected to the mainland by a narrow, rocky neck of land. The ruined Tintagel Castle, which exte...

pessimism

(Encyclopedia)pessimism, philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. In religion Buddhism and...

White, T. H.

(Encyclopedia)White, T. H. (Terence Hanbury White), 1906–64, British author, b. Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His best-known work, the tetralogy The Once and Future King (1939–58), is a dramatic and delightfully ...

German East Africa

(Encyclopedia)German East Africa, former German colony, c.370,000 sq mi (958,300 sq km), E Africa. Dar es Salaam was the capital. German influence emerged in the area in 1884 when Carl Peters, the German explorer, ...

Doherty, Charles Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Doherty, Charles Joseph dōˈərtē [key], 1855–1931, Canadian jurist and statesman. After serving (1891–1906) as judge of the superior court of Quebec prov., he retired (1906) from the bench and ...

Cobb, Lee J.

(Encyclopedia)Cobb, Lee J., 1911–76, American actor, b. New York City. He first performed with the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse in 1929 and made his Broadway debut in Crime and Punishment (1935). Cobb created the ...

Schultz, Theodore William

(Encyclopedia)Schultz, Theodore William, 1902–98, American economist; b. Arlington, S.Dak. He taught at Iowa State College (1930–43) and the Univ. of Chicago (1943–67), but remained active at Chicago long aft...

Ochoa, Severo

(Encyclopedia)Ochoa, Severo sāvāˈrō ōchōˈä [key], 1905–93, American biochemist and educator, b. Spain, M.D. Univ. of Madrid, 1929. After teaching at the universities of Madrid, Heidelberg, and Oxford, he ...