Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kahn, Otto Hermann

(Encyclopedia)Kahn, Otto Hermann kän [key], 1867–1934, American banker and patron of the arts, born and educated in Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1893 and in 1897 joined the banking firm of Kuhn,...

Margaret of Navarre

(Encyclopedia)Margaret of Navarre äNgo͞olāmˈ [key], 1492–1549, queen consort of Navarre; sister of King Francis I of France. After the death of her first husband she married (1527) Henri d'Albret, king of Nav...

Merchant Adventurers

(Encyclopedia)Merchant Adventurers, name given originally to all merchants in England who engaged in export trade, but later applied to loosely organized groups of merchants in the major ports concerned with export...

Mary II, 1662–94, queen of England

(Encyclopedia)Mary II, 1662–94, queen of England, wife of William III. The daughter of James II by his first wife, Anne Hyde, she was brought up a Protestant despite her father's adoption of Roman Catholicism. 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...

Kikuyu

(Encyclopedia)Kikuyu kĭko͞oˈyo͞o [key], Bantu-speaking people, numbering about 6 million, forming the largest tribal group in Kenya. The Kikuyu live in the highlands NE of Nairobi. Before the British conquest t...

perestroika

(Encyclopedia)perestroika pərˈĕstroyˈkə [key], Soviet economic and social policy of the late 1980s. Perestroika [restructuring] was the term attached to the attempts (1985–91) by Mikhail Gorbachev to transfo...

Abbey Theatre

(Encyclopedia)Abbey Theatre, Irish theatrical company devoted primarily to indigenous drama. W. B. Yeats was a leader in founding (1902) the Irish National Theatre Society with Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, and A. E. ...

Brownlow, William Gannaway

(Encyclopedia)Brownlow, William Gannaway brounˈlō [key], 1805–77, U.S. politician, governor of Tennessee (1865–69), known as the “Fighting Parson,” b. Wythe co., Va. Brownlow won a large following in E Te...

Bogart, Humphrey DeForest

(Encyclopedia)Bogart, Humphrey DeForest bōˈgärt [key], 1899–1957, American film actor, b. New York City. After a succession of stage roles he achieved note with his portrayal of the gangster Duke Mantee in The...