Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Rimbaud, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Rimbaud, Arthur ärtürˈ răNbōˈ [key], 1854–91, French poet who had a great influence on the symbolists and subsequent modern poets, b. Charleville. A defiant and precocious youth, Rimbaud at 16...

Deane, Silas

(Encyclopedia)Deane, Silas, 1737–89, political leader and diplomat in the American Revolution, b. Groton, Conn. A lawyer and merchant at Wethersfield, Conn., he was elected (1772) to the state assembly and became...

De Forest, Lee

(Encyclopedia)De Forest, Lee, 1873–1961, American inventor, b. Council Bluffs, Iowa, grad. Yale, 1896. He was a pioneer in the development of wireless telegraphy, sound pictures, and television. His triode (1906)...

DeGeneres, Ellen Lee

(Encyclopedia) DeGeneres, Ellen Lee, 1958- , American actor and talk-show host, b. Metairie, La. DeGeneres’s parents split in 1974, and she subsequently ...

Ditmars, Raymond Lee

(Encyclopedia)Ditmars, Raymond Lee dĭtˈmärz [key], 1876–1942, American naturalist and author, b. Newark, N.J., grad. Barnard Military Academy, 1891. His early skill in preparing insect collections led to his f...

Custis-Lee Mansion

(Encyclopedia)Custis-Lee Mansion, Va.: see Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial. ...

Chennault, Claire Lee

(Encyclopedia)Chennault, Claire Lee shĕnˈôltˌ [key], 1890–1958, American general, b. Commerce, Tex. In World War I he was a pioneer in air pursuit tactics. Retired (1937) from the army, he went to China and o...

Hooker, John Lee

(Encyclopedia)Hooker, John Lee, 1917–2001, American blues singer and guitarist, b. near Clarksdale, Miss. From a cotton-sharecropping family, he learned the blues from his stepfather and various visiting Delta bl...

Hopper, Dennis Lee

(Encyclopedia) Hopper, Dennis Lee, 1936-2010, American filmmaker and actor, b. Dodge City, Ks. Hopper’s family relocated several times during his childhood, settli...

Hamilton, Lee Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Lee Herbert, 1931–, U.S. politician, b. Daytona Beach, Fla. A lawyer (J.D. Indiana Univ., 1956), he left private practice after winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964,...