Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pius IX

(Encyclopedia)Pius IX, 1792–1878, pope (1846–78), an Italian named Giovanni M. Mastai-Ferretti, b. Senigallia; successor of Gregory XVI. He was cardinal and bishop of Imola when elected pope. For two years he p...

Howe, Frederic Clemson

(Encyclopedia)Howe, Frederic Clemson, 1867–1940, American lawyer, government official, and political scientist, b. Meadville, Pa. He practiced law (1894–1909) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was closely associated...

Hammerstein, Oscar, 2d

(Encyclopedia)Hammerstein, Oscar, 2d, 1895–1960, American lyricist and librettist, b. New York City, grad. Columbia, 1916; grandson of Oscar Hammerstein. His first success was Wildflower (1923), with music by Vin...

Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry

(Encyclopedia)Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry (Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing) välārēˈ zhēskärˈ dĕstăNˈ [key], 1926–2020, French political leader, president of France (1974–81); b. French-oc...

Breton literature

(Encyclopedia)Breton literature brĕtˈən [key], in the Celtic language of Brittany. Although there are numerous allusions in other literatures of the 12th to 14th cent. to the “matter of Brittany,” which incl...

Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

(Encyclopedia)Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793–1864, American ethnologist, b. near Albany, N.Y. He gave enormous impetus to the study of Native American culture and may be regarded as the foremost pioneer in Native ...

Royal, Ségolène

(Encyclopedia)Royal, Ségolène (Marie-Ségolène Royal) märēˈ-sāgōlĕnˈ rwäyälˈ [key], 1953–, French politician, b. Dakar, Senegal. A graduate of the École Nationale d'Administration (1980) who worked ...

Orléans, Gaston, duc d'

(Encyclopedia)Orléans, Gaston, duc d' dük dôrlāäNˈ [key], 1608–60, son of King Henry IV and Marie de' Medici, younger brother of Louis XIII. He took part in many of the conspiracies of the great nobles aga...

idealism

(Encyclopedia)idealism, the attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind, in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses. In art idealism is the tendency to represent...

Marcy, William Learned

(Encyclopedia)Marcy, William Learned, 1786–1857, American politician, b. Southbridge, Mass. He settled in Troy, N.Y., where he practiced law and, after serving in the War of 1812, held local offices. A Democrat a...