Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

234 results found

Starr, Kenneth Winston

(Encyclopedia)Starr, Kenneth Winston, 1946–2022, American public official, b. Vernon, Tex., grad. George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1968), Brown (M.A., 1969), Duke (J....

Emporia

(Encyclopedia)Emporia ĕmpôrˈēə [key], city (2020 pop. 24,139), seat of Lyon co., E central Kans., in the ...

Ficino, Marsilio

(Encyclopedia)Ficino, Marsilio märsēˈlyō fēchēˈnō [key], 1433–99, Italian philosopher. Under the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, Ficino became the most influential exponent of Platonism in Italy in the 15...

Hull, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Hull, Isaac, 1773–1843, American naval officer, b. Derby, Conn. He served in the undeclared naval war with France (1798–1800) and in the Tripolitan War before being promoted to captain in 1806. In...

Zsigmond, Vilmos

(Encyclopedia)Zsigmond, Vilmos, 1930–2016, Hungarian-American cinematographer. As a film student in Budapest, he and fellow student (and later cinematographer) Laszlo Kovacs secretly filmed the street fighting as...

McPhee, John Angus

(Encyclopedia)McPhee, John Angus, 1931–, American journalist and nonfiction writer, b. Princeton, N.J., A.B. Princeton, 1953. He was an editor at Time magazine (1957–64) before becoming (1965) a staff writer at...

Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn

(Encyclopedia)Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, 1815–81, English clergyman and author. As a student at Rugby he was influenced by the liberal views of Thomas Arnold. In 1838 he was elected a fellow of University College, ...

Burns, George

(Encyclopedia)Burns, George, 1896–1996, b. New York City as Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen, 1906–64, b. San Francisco, American comedy team (1923–58). In vaudeville in the 1920s, on radio (1932–...

Truro , city, England

(Encyclopedia)Truro tro͝orˈō [key], city (1991 pop. 16,130), W Cornwall, England, the administrative and commercial center of Cornwall, at the confluence of the Kenwyn and Allen rivers (which form the Truro Rive...

Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr. vŏnˈəgət [key] 1922–2007, American novelist, b. Indianapolis. After serving in World War II, he worked as a police reporter and wrote short stories for mainstream and science...