Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

388 results found

Durham, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Durham dûrˈăm [key], city (2020 pop. 324,833), seat of Durham co., N central N.C., in the ...

Dunbar, William, Scottish poet

(Encyclopedia)Dunbar, William, c.1460–c.1520, Scottish poet. After attending the Univ. of St. Andrews he was attached for some time to the Franciscans, probably as a novice. By 1491 he seems to have been connecte...

chorea

(Encyclopedia)chorea kərēˈə, kō– [key] or St. Vitus's dance, acute disturbance of the central nervous system characterized by involuntary muscular movements of the face and extremities. The disease, known al...

Jolley, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Jolley, Elizabeth (Monica Elizabeth Jolley), 1923–2007, Australian novelist, b. Birmingham, England. A nurse during World War II, she immigrated to Western Australia in 1959. Although she had writte...

Oliver, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Oliver, Mary, 1935–2019, American poet, b. Cleveland, Ohio, studied Ohio State Univ., Vassar. She published her first collection of poems, No Voyage and Other Poems, in 1963. She was a keen observer...

Mitchell, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Arthur, 1934–2018, American dancer and choreographer, b. New York City. Mitchell studied in New York City at the School of American Ballet and appeared on Broadway and with various compani...

klezmer

(Encyclopedia)klezmer klĕzˈmər [key], form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the...

Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von

(Encyclopedia)Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von frēˈdrĭkh ĕrnst fən vāˈbər [key], 1786–1826, German composer and pianist; pupil of Michael Haydn and Abbé Vogler. He made his debut as a pianist at 13 ...

sunbittern

(Encyclopedia)sunbittern, common name for a graceful, stout-bodied, bitternlike bird, Eurypyga helias. It is named for its wing markings, an orange-chestnut shield set in an orange-buff circle, which looks like a s...

Reinhardt, Django

(Encyclopedia)Reinhardt, Django (Jean Baptiste Reinhardt), 1910–53, Belgian jazz guitarist of Romani (Gypsy) descent. Reinhardt began playing the guitar professionally at 12. He was severely burned in a fire in 1...

Browse by Subject