Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

White, Henry

(Encyclopedia)White, Henry, 1850–1927, American diplomat, b. Baltimore. He studied abroad and traveled widely. White—often called the first career diplomat in the United States—entered the foreign service as ...

Watterson, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Watterson, Henry, 1840–1921, American journalist, b. Washington, D.C. Throughout most of his life he was known as “Marse Henry.” Early in life he became a Washington newspaper reporter. He serve...

Wells, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wells, Henry, 1805–78, American pioneer expressman, b. Thetford, Vt. As a child he moved with his family to central New York state. In 1843 he established express service between New York City and B...

Dorking

(Encyclopedia)Dorking, town, Surrey, SE England. It is a market town and residential suburb of London. Leith Hill, the highest point in SE England (965 ft/294 m), is ...

Bliss, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Bliss, Sir Arthur, 1891–1975, English composer. Bliss's teachers included Charles Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gustav Holst. He was made Master of the Queen's Musick in 1953. His early work...

Holst, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Holst, Gustav hŏlst [key], 1874–1934, English composer, studied at the Royal College of Music. Grieg, Richard Strauss, and Ralph Vaughan Williams influenced his early work, but most of his music is...

Boult, Sir Adrian

(Encyclopedia)Boult, Sir Adrian bōlt [key], 1889–1983, English conductor. Boult studied conducting in Leipzig with Arthur Nikisch (1912–13). In 1930 he became conductor of the newly formed BBC Symphony Orchest...

fantasia

(Encyclopedia)fantasia făntāˈzhə [key] [Ital.,=fancy], musical composition not restricted to a formal design, but constructed freely in the manner of an improvisation. In the 16th and 17th cent., however, the t...

Shirley-Quirk, John Stanton

(Encyclopedia)Shirley-Quirk, John Stanton, 1931–2014, British bass-baritone. He began his career as a chemistry teacher, turning permanently to music in 1961. Acclaimed for his fine tone, diction, and phrasing, h...

Browse by Subject