Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Fela

(Encyclopedia)Fela (Fela Anikulapo Kuti), 1938–97, Nigerian musician and political activist, b. Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, studied Trinity College of Music, London. He was the originator of Afrobeat,...

Hawke, Bob

(Encyclopedia)Hawke, Bob (Robert James Lee Hawke), 1929–2019, Australian statesman. A Rhodes scholar at Oxford, he gained a reputation as a skillful labor mediator during his tenure at the Australian Council of T...

Port-Royal

(Encyclopedia)Port-Royal Fr. pôr-rwäyälˈ [key], former abbey of women, c.17 mi (27 km) W of Paris, founded in 1204. It was at first Benedictine, later Cistercian. In 1608 the abbess, Angélique Arnauld (see Arn...

Fallingwater

(Encyclopedia)Fallingwater, Bear Run, Pa., house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Fallingwater (1936–39) is an architectural tour de force of Wright's organic philosophy, whereby a building should be completely in...

Krasner, Lee

(Encyclopedia)Krasner, Lee krăsˈnər, krăzˈ– [key], 1911–84, American artist, b. Brooklyn. She studied with Hans Hofmann and became a leading figure in abstract expressionism along with her husband, Jackson...

torpedo , in naval warfare

(Encyclopedia)torpedo, in naval warfare, a self-propelled submarine projectile loaded with explosives, used for the destruction of enemy ships. Although there were attempts at subsurface warfare in the 16th and 17t...

Tompion, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Tompion, Thomas, 1639?–1713, English clockmaker. When the Royal Observatory at Greenwich was established in 1676, Tompion was chosen to make two clocks, to be wound only once a year, which proved to...

Agulhas, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Agulhas, Cape əgŭˈləs [key] [Port.,=needles], Western Cape province, South Africa; the southernmost point of Africa. Its name refers to the saw-edged reefs and sunken rocks that run out to sea and...

trial by battle

(Encyclopedia)trial by battle: see ordeal.

Lateran Council, Fifth

(Encyclopedia)Lateran Council, Fifth, 1512–17, 18th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convened by Pope Julius II and continued by his successor Leo X. Julius called the council to counter an attemp...