Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

258 results found

McGovern, George Stanley

(Encyclopedia)McGovern, George Stanley məgŭvˈərn [key], 1922–2012, U.S. senator from South Dakota (1963–81), b. Avon, S.Dak. He was a decorated B-24 bomber pilot during World War II. He later obtained degre...

cricket, sport

(Encyclopedia)cricket, ball-and-bat game played chiefly in Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries. In the early 21st cent., Twenty20, a new version of cricket with a much faster, more compressed format, eme...

Booth, John Wilkes

(Encyclopedia)Booth, John Wilkes wĭlks [key], 1838–65, American actor, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, b. near Bel Air, Md.; son of Junius Brutus Booth and brother of Edwin Booth. He made his stage debut at the...

Butler, Judith

(Encyclopedia)Butler, Judith, 1956–, American philosopher and political theorist, b. Cleveland, Ph.D. Yale University, 1984. Holds the Hannah Arendt Chair at The Eu...

Wayne, Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Wayne, Anthony, 1745–96, American Revolutionary general, b. Chester co., Pa. Impetuous and hot-headed, Wayne was sometimes known as “mad Anthony,” but he was an able general. In 1783 he return...

Michigan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Michigan mĭshˈĭgən [key], upper midwestern state of the United States. It consists of two peninsulas thrusting into the Great Lakes and has borders with Ohio and Indiana (S), Wisconsin (W),...

foundation

(Encyclopedia)foundation, institution through which private wealth is contributed and distributed for public purpose. Foundations have existed since Greek and Roman times, when they honored deities. During the Midd...

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Rossetti, Dante Gabriel rōsĕtˈē [key], 1828–82, English poet and painter; son of Gabriele Rossetti and brother of Christina Rossetti. He attended the Royal Academy and studied painting briefly ...

Adams, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Henry, 1838–1918, American writer and historian, b. Boston; son of Charles Francis Adams (1807–86). He was secretary (1861–68) to his father, then U.S. minister to Great Britain. Upon his...

comic strip

(Encyclopedia)comic strip, combination of cartoon with a story line, laid out in a series of pictorial panels across a page and concerning a continuous character or set of characters, whose thoughts and dialogues a...

Browse by Subject