Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

388 results found

Soyinka, Wole

(Encyclopedia)Soyinka, Wole wōˈlā shôyĭngˈkə [key], 1934–, Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist, born Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka. Educated at the universities of Ibadan and ...

Salvador, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Salvador souN [key], city (1991 pop. 2,075,273), capital of Bahia state, E Brazil, a port on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the commercial center of a fertile crescent (the Recôncavo) and a shipping point...

Shankar, Ravi

(Encyclopedia)Shankar, Ravi (Robindra Shankar Chowdhury), 1920–2012, Indian sitarist and composer, b. Varanasi. He was the first Indian instrumentalist to attain an international reputation and is credited with i...

Sendak, Maurice Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Sendak, Maurice Bernard, 1928–2012, American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Largely self-taught, he was widely acclaimed as the 20th-century's most important childrens...

Darwin, Charles Robert

(Encyclopedia)Darwin, Charles Robert, 1809–82, English naturalist, b. Shrewsbury; grandson of Erasmus Darwin and of Josiah Wedgwood. He firmly established the theory of organic evolution known as Darwinism. He st...

Rolling Stones

(Encyclopedia)Rolling Stones, English rock music group that rose to prominence in the mid-1960s and continues to exert great influence. Member...

Gao Xingjian

(Encyclopedia)Gao Xingjian gouˈ shĭingˈjyänˈ [key], 1940–, Chinese-French novelist and playwright, b. Ganzhou. He earned (1962) a degree in French in Beijing and embarked upon a literary life, which was cut ...

Opéra

(Encyclopedia)Opéra ôpāräˈ [key] (Académie de musique), former chief opera house of Paris, on the Place de l'Opéra, one of the main crossroads on the right bank of the Seine. Designed by J. L. C. Garnier and...

Maclaine, Shirley

(Encyclopedia) Maclaine, Shirley, 1934- , American actress and author, b. Richmond, Va., as Shirley MacLean Beaty. Maclaine’s father held various jobs in education...

aria

(Encyclopedia)aria ärˈēə [key], elaborate and often lengthy solo song with instrumental accompaniment. In the 16th cent. it was a melody improvised over a strophic bass line, and a distinction was made between ...