Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

209 results found

Murdoch, Dame Iris

(Encyclopedia)Murdoch, Dame Iris (Dame Jean Iris Murdoch) mûrˈdŏk [key], 1919–99, British novelist and philosopher, b. Dublin, Ireland, grad. Oxford (1942). In 1948 she was named lecturer in philosophy at Oxfo...

Dench, Dame Judi

(Encyclopedia)Dench, Dame Judi jo͞oˈdē dĕnch [key], 1934–, British actress, b. York, England, as Judith Olivia Dench. She studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, London, made her de...

Murdoch, Rupert

(Encyclopedia)Murdoch, Rupert (Keith Rupert Murdoch), 1931–, Australian-American publishing magnate. Combining sensationalist journalism (often reflective of his generally hawkish, strongly conservative political...

Iris, river, Turkey

(Encyclopedia)Iris, river: see Yeşil Irmak.

iris, in anatomy

(Encyclopedia)iris: see eye.

iris, in botany

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Red iris, Iris fulva iris, common name for members of the genus Iris of the Iridaceae, a family of perennial herbs that includes the crocuses, freesias, and gladioli. The family is characteriz...

Young, Iris Marion

(Encyclopedia)Young, Iris Marion, 1949–2006, American philosopher and political theorist, b. New York, Ph.D. Penn State University, 1974. An activist-intellectual, ...

Iris, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Iris īˈrĭs [key], in Greek mythology, goddess of the rainbow; daughter of Electra and Thaumas. She was often represented as a messenger of Zeus and Hera. ...

Byatt, A. S.

(Encyclopedia)Byatt, A. S. (Antonia Susan Byatt) bīˈət [key], 1936–, British novelist; sister of Margaret Drabble. Educated at Cambridge, Bryn Mawr College, Pa., and Oxford, she is a noted critic and novelist ...

Christie, Dame Agatha

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Dame Agatha, 1890–1976, English detective story writer, b. Torquay, Devon, as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Christie's second husband was the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she gained ...