Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ogata Kenzan

(Encyclopedia)Ogata Kenzan ōgäˈtä kĕnˈzän [key] 1663–1743, Japanese potter and painter; younger brother of Ogata Korin. A follower of the Rimpa school, he set up kilns for the production of ceramics in the...

Stephen, Sir Leslie

(Encyclopedia)Stephen, Sir Leslie, 1832–1904, English author and critic. The first serious critic of the novel, he was also editor of the great Dictionary of National Biography from its beginning in 1882 until 18...

Albert II, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert II, 1934–, king of the Belgians (1993–2013), the younger son of Leopold III. He married Donna Paola Ruffo de Calabria in 1959; they have three children. Albert became king when Baudouin, hi...

Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin [Heb.,=son of fortune], younger son of Jacob and Rachel, eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His mother, dying, named him Benoni bĕnōˈnī [key] [Heb.,=son of my sorrow]. ...

Whittingham, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Whittingham, Charles hwĭtˈĭnjəm, –ĭng-əm [key], 1767–1840, English printer. He established a printery in London in 1789, removing to Chiswick and founding the Chiswick Press in 1810. He was ...

Sønderborg

(Encyclopedia)Sønderborg söˈnərbôr [key], Ger. Sonderburg, city (1992 pop. 25,551), Sønderjylland co., S Denmark, on both sides of the Als Sund. The older section of the city is situated on Als Island and is ...

coup

(Encyclopedia)coup ko͞o [key] [Fr.,=blow], among Native North Americans of the Plains culture, a war honor, awarded for striking an enemy in such a way that it was considered an extreme act of bravery. Generally, ...

Ilf, Ilya Arnoldovich

(Encyclopedia)Ilf, Ilya Arnoldovich ēlyäˈ ərnôlˈdəvĭch ēlf [key], 1897–1937, Russian humorist whose original name was Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg. In all his writing he collaborated with Yevgeny Petrovi...

pedophilia

(Encyclopedia)pedophilia, psychosexual disorder in which there is a preference for sexual activity with prepubertal children. Pedophiles are almost always males. The children are more often of the opposite sex (abo...

Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'

(Encyclopedia)Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d' märk pyĕr də vwäyāˈ də pōmēˈ kôNt därzhäNsôNˈ [key], 1696–1764, French statesman and patron of literature; younger brother of René ...