Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

453 results found

Schopenhauer, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Schopenhauer, Arthur ärˈto͝or shōˈpənhouˌər [key], 1788–1860, German philosopher, b. Danzig (now Gdansk). The bias of his own temperament and experience was germinal to the development of hi...

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...

Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Arthur, king of Britain: see Arthurian legend. ...

Arthur I

(Encyclopedia)Arthur I, 1187–1203?, duke of Brittany (1196–1203?), son of Geoffrey, fourth son of Henry II of England and Constance, heiress of Brittany. Arthur, a posthumous child, was proclaimed duke in 1196,...

Lee, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Arthur, 1740–92, American Revolutionary diplomat, b. Westmoreland co., Va.; brother of Francis L. Lee, Richard H. Lee, and William Lee. Educated in Great Britain, he returned to Virginia to pra...

Middleton, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Middleton, Arthur, 1742–87, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. near Charleston, S.C.; son of Henry Middleton. He was educated in England, retu...

Miller, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Arthur, 1915–2005, American dramatist, b. New York City, grad. Univ. of Michigan, 1938. One of America's most distinguished playwrights, he has been hailed as the finest realist of the 20th-...

Morrison, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Morrison, Arthur, 1863–1945, English novelist. A journalist, he worked on the National Observer for William Ernest Henley. His stories of life in the London slums include Tales of Mean Street (1894)...

Mitchell, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Arthur, 1934–2018, American dancer and choreographer, b. New York City. Mitchell studied in New York City at the School of American Ballet and appeared on Broadway and with various compani...

MacArthur, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)MacArthur, Arthur, 1845–1912, American army officer, b. Springfield, Mass.; father of Douglas MacArthur. Raised in Wisconsin, he served with the 24th Wisconsin Volunteers in the Civil War and fought...