Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Frohman, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Frohman, Charles frōˈmən [key], 1860–1915, American theatrical manager and producer, b. Sandusky, Ohio. Starting his career as a box-office clerk in Brooklyn, N.Y., Frohman became a successful pr...

Alabama claims

(Encyclopedia)Alabama claims, claims made by the U.S. government against Great Britain for the damage inflicted on Northern merchant ships during the American Civil War by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers...

Barney, Joshua

(Encyclopedia)Barney, Joshua bärˈnē [key], 1759–1818, American naval officer and privateer, b. Baltimore. He entered the navy early in the American Revolution, engaged in many feats of daring, and was captured...

Rostand, Edmond

(Encyclopedia)Rostand, Edmond ĕdmôNˈ rôstäNˈ [key], 1868–1918, French poet and dramatist. In 1890 appeared his first volume of verse, Les Musardises. His first plays were light, fanciful, and charmingly poe...

Beckham, David

(Encyclopedia)Beckham, David (David Robert Joseph Beckham), 1975–, English soccer player known especially for the power and accuracy of his free kicks. After beginning to play on the Manchester United youth squad...

Quincy, Josiah, 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Quincy, Josiah kwĭnˈzē [key], 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Boston. An outstanding lawyer, he wrote a series of anonymous articles for the Boston Gazette in which he op...

Vives, Juan Luis

(Encyclopedia)Vives, Juan Luis hwän lo͞oēsˈ vēˈvās [key], 1492–1540, Spanish humanist and philosopher; friend of Erasmus. At the invitation of King Henry VIII he went to England, where he lectured at Oxfor...

Carpentier, Alejo

(Encyclopedia)Carpentier, Alejo älāˈhō kärpĕntyārˈ [key], 1904–80, Cuban novelist and musicologist. As a political exile in Paris between 1928 and 1939, Carpentier was strongly influenced by Antonin Artau...

lightning rod

(Encyclopedia)lightning rod, a rod made of materials, especially metals, that are good conductors of electricity, which is mounted on top of a building or other structure and attached to the ground by a cable. By v...

Dease, Peter Warren

(Encyclopedia)Dease, Peter Warren dēs [key], 1788–1863, Canadian explorer. He was in the North West Company before its merger with the Hudson's Bay Company and later was a Hudson's Bay Company trader. He was a m...