Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sládek, Joseph Václav

(Encyclopedia)Sládek, Joseph Václav yôˈzĕf vätsˈläf släˈdĕk [key], 1845–1912, Czech poet and translator. He lived in the United States from 1868 to 1870. Sládek later taught English in Prague and tran...

Strickland, William

(Encyclopedia)Strickland, William, 1788–1854, American architect of the classic revival, b. Navesink, New Jersey. He studied under B. H. Latrobe. In his buildings Strickland sought to reconcile the proportions of...

Swanson, Gloria

(Encyclopedia)Swanson, Gloria, 1899–1983, American movie actress, b. Chicago. Swanson began her film career in 1913, displaying an elegant comedic style in a series of films for director Cecil B. DeMille. Finance...

Boito, Arrigo

(Encyclopedia)Boito, Arrigo ärrēˈgo bôˈētō [key], 1842–1918, Italian composer and librettist. His opera Mefistofele (1868, rev. 1875), influenced by Wagner's music-drama, helped to bring about a new dramat...

Agostino di Duccio

(Encyclopedia)Agostino di Duccio ägōstēˈnō dē do͞otˈchō [key], b. 1418, d. after 1481, Florentine sculptor. Agostino worked mainly in other parts of Italy; he carved marble narrative reliefs for the facade...

Cavalcanti, Guido

(Encyclopedia)Cavalcanti, Guido gwēˈdō kävälkänˈtē [key], c.1255–1300, Italian poet; friend of Dante, whose work was greatly influenced by Cavalcanti's style. He belonged to the White faction in the strug...

White, Theodore H.

(Encyclopedia)White, Theodore H., 1915–86, Americal political journalist, b. Boston. After freelancing for the Boston Globe and the Manchester Guardian, he was recruited by John Hersey to cover East Asia for Time...

Blass, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Blass, Bill (William Ralph Blass), 1922–2002, American fashion designer, b. Fort Wayne, Ind. Active for three decades, he was most noted for high-quality, high-priced, and quintessentially American ...

Benet, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Benet, Juan bənetˈ [key], 1927–93, Spanish novelist and essayist. He earned a degree in civil engineering and worked as a highway engineer before publishing (1961) his first work, Nunca llegarás ...

Rauschenberg, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Rauschenberg, Robert rouˈshənbûrgˌ [key], 1925–2008, American painter, b. Port Arthur, Tex., as Milton Ernest Rauschenberg. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, with Josef Albers at Blac...