Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sharp, William

(Encyclopedia)Sharp, William, pseud. Fiona Macleod fēˈnə məkloudˈ, fēōˈnə [key], 1855–1905, Scottish poet and man of letters. Under his own name he wrote literary biographies; poems, including the volume...

Aylmer, John

(Encyclopedia)Aylmer, John ālˈmər [key], 1521–94, bishop of London. His name is also spelled Ælmer or Elmer. He was briefly chaplain to the duke of Suffolk and tutor to his daughter, Lady Jane Grey. In 1553 h...

Yamamoto, Kansai

(Encyclopedia)Yamamoto, Kansai, 1944–2020, Japanese fashion designer, known as Kansai. Essentially self-taught, he showed his first collection in London in 1971. The theatrical garments, with an exotic, oriental ...

Tannhäuser

(Encyclopedia)Tannhäuser tänˈhoizər [key], 13th cent., German minnesinger, whose adventurous wanderings became the subject of legend. Sixteen of his own lyrics are extant, including Buszlied (Song of Repentance...

Bush, Barbara

(Encyclopedia)Bush, Barbara, 1925–2018, b. New York City as Barbara Pierce; wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush. She studied briefly at Smith College before marrying (1945); the Bushes ultimate...

Hess, Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Hess, Rudolf, 1894–1987, German National Socialist leader, b. Alexandria, Egypt; son of a German merchant. In 1920 he became an ardent follower of Adolf Hitler and after the Munich “beer-hall puts...

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...

Saint Andrews

(Encyclopedia)Saint Andrews, town (1991 pop. 11,302), Fife, E Scotland, on the North Sea. A summer resort, it is famous for its golf courses. It was the seat of an archbishop from 908 and the ecclesiastical capital...

Rimmer, William

(Encyclopedia)Rimmer, William, 1816–79, American sculptor and writer, b. Liverpool, England. He was brought up in the United States and after working as a cobbler in Brockton, Mass., at the age of 30 began the st...

Vandenberg, Arthur Hendrick

(Encyclopedia)Vandenberg, Arthur Hendrick, 1884–1951, American politician, b. Grand Rapids, Mich. He was editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald from 1906 to 1928, when he was appointed to fill a U.S. Sen...