Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

San Andrés and Providencia

(Encyclopedia)San Andrés and Providencia, district (1990 est. pop. 39,949), 21 sq mi (54 sq km), Colombia, comprising two small islands and seven groups of coral reefs and cays in the Caribbean 125–200 mi (201�...

Friendly, Fred W.

(Encyclopedia)Friendly, Fred W., 1915–98, American broadcaster and author, b. New York City as Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer. He began his career at age 22 at a radio station in Providence where he wrote, produ...

Cortona, Pietro Berrettini da

(Encyclopedia)Cortona, Pietro Berrettini da pyāˈtrō bār-rĕt-tēˈnē dä kōrtôˈnä [key], 1596–1669, Italian baroque painter and architect, b. Cortona. The Barberini family commissioned him to paint fresc...

Fish, Stanley Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Fish, Stanley Eugene, 1938–, American literary critic and educator, b. Providence, R.I.; grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1959), Yale Univ. (M.A., 1960; Ph.D., 1962). Fish has taught at the Univ. ...

Slater, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Slater, Samuel, 1768–1835, American pioneer in the cotton textile industry, b. Derbyshire, England. As an apprentice and later a mill supervisor, he gained a thorough knowledge of all the cotton-man...

Berlin Wall

(Encyclopedia)Berlin Wall, 1961–89, a barrier first erected in Aug., 1961, by the East German government along the border between East and West Berlin, and later along the entire border between East Germany and W...

Cumberland, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland. 1 City (2020 pop. 19,076), seat of Allegany co., NW Md., on the North Branch of the Potomac; settled 1750, inc. 1815. It is an important ...

Cohan, George Michael

(Encyclopedia)Cohan, George Michael kōhănˈ, kōˈhăn, kōˈən [key], 1878–1942, American showman, b. Providence, R.I. As a child he appeared in vaudeville as one of “The Four Cohans” with his father, mot...

Bontecou, Lee

(Encyclopedia)Bontecou, Lee bŏnˈtəko͞o [key], 1931–, American artist, b. Providence, R.I. Bontecou is best known for the abstract sculptures she created from 1959–1967, three-dimensional wall reliefs made o...

Ramos-Horta, José

(Encyclopedia)Ramos-Horta, José, 1949–, East Timorese independence advocate and political leader; co-recipient, with Carlos Belo, of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. After engaging in anti-Portuguese activities, he w...