Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

libretto

(Encyclopedia)libretto ləbrĕtˈō [key] [Ital.,=little book], the text of an opera or an oratorio. Although a play usually emphasizes an integrated plot, a libretto is most often a loose plot connecting a series ...

Caldera Rodríguez, Rafael Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Caldera Rodríguez, Rafael Antonio räfäĕlˈ käldāˈrä rôᵺrēˈgās [key], 1916–2009, president of Venezuela (1969–74, 1994–99). A lawyer and professor of sociology, he was first elected...

will, in philosophy and psychology

(Encyclopedia)will, in philosophy and psychology, term used to describe that which is alleged to stimulate the motivation of purposeful activity. It is characteristic of the will that it can be observed only in one...

Champaigne, Philippe de

(Encyclopedia)Champaigne or Champagne, Philippe de both: fēlēpˈ də shäNpäˈnyə [key], 1602–74, French painter, b. Brussels, of Flemish parents. In 1621 he went to Paris, where he worked with Poussin on the...

Estaing, Charles Hector, comte d'

(Encyclopedia)Estaing, Charles Hector, comte d' shärl ĕktôrˈ kôNt dĕstăNˈ [key], 1729–94, French admiral. After serving in India he was given (1778) command of a French fleet sent to aid the colonists in ...

Havelange, João

(Encyclopedia)Havelange, João (Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid de Havelange), 1916–2016, Brazilian business and sports executive, b. Rio de Janeiro. An Olympic swimmer (1936) and water polo player (1952), he was a ...

Haroche, Serge

(Encyclopedia)Haroche, Serge, 1944–, French physicist, Ph.D. Paris VI Univ., 1971. He was a professor at Pierre and Marie Curie Univ. from 1975 to 2001 and at Paris VI Univ. from 1982 to 2001, when he joined the ...

Mourou, Gérard Albert

(Encyclopedia)Mourou, Gérard Albert, 1944–, French physicist, Ph.D. Pierre and Marie Curie Univ. (now part of Sorbonne Univ.), 1973. Mourou was a professor at the Univ. of Rochester, New York, from 1977 to 1988,...

Longueuil, Charles le Moyne, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)Longueuil, Charles le Moyne, sieur de shärl lə mwän, syör də lôNgöˈyə [key], 1626–85, French colonial leader in Canada, founder of a famous Canadian family, b. Dieppe, France. Emigrating to...

Belloc, Hilaire

(Encyclopedia)Belloc, Hilaire (Joseph Hilaire Pierre Belloc) bĕlˈŏk [key], 1870–1953, English author, b. France. He became a British subject in 1902, and from 1906 to 1910 was a Liberal member of Parliament fo...