Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Beria, Lavrenti Pavlovich

(Encyclopedia)Beria, Lavrenti Pavlovich ləvrĕnˈtyē pävˈləvĭch bâˈrēə [key], 1899–1953, Soviet Communist leader, b. Georgia. He rose to prominence in the Cheka (secret police) in Georgia and the Transc...

socialist realism

(Encyclopedia)socialist realism, Soviet artistic and literary doctrine. The role of literature and art in Soviet society was redefined in 1932 when the newly created Union of Soviet Writers proclaimed socialist rea...

Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich

(Encyclopedia)Voroshilov, Kliment Yefremovich vôrəshēˈlŏf, Rus. klyĭmyĕntˈ yəfrĕmˈəvĭch vərəshēˈləf [key], 1881–1969, Soviet military leader and public official. A Bolshevik from 1903, he was an...

Zhdanov, Andrei Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Zhdanov, Andrei Aleksandrovich əndrāˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch zhdäˈnôf [key], 1896–1948, Soviet Communist leader. A loyal supporter of Stalin, he was made (1934) secretary of the Leningrad Comm...

Eichendorff, Joseph, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Eichendorff, Joseph, Freiherr von yōˈzĕf frīˈhĕr fən īˈkhəndôrf [key], 1788–1857, German poet, a leader of the late romantics. He studied law, volunteered in Lützow's corps in the Napole...

Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph zhäN bätēstˈ zhôzĕfˈ dəläNˈbrə [key], 1749–1822, French astronomer and mathematician. He was a member of the bureau of longitudes from 1795 and professor at...

De Maria, Walter Joseph

(Encyclopedia)De Maria, Walter Joseph, 1935–2013, American sculptor, b. Albany, Calif. From the late 1950s into the 60s De Maria partcipated in “Happenings,” created Dada-influenced minimalist sculptures, and...

Debye, Peter Joseph Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Debye, Peter Joseph Wilhelm dēbīˈ [key], 1884–1966, American physicist, b. the Netherlands. He was professor at the universities of Zürich, Utrecht, Göttingen, Leipzig, and Berlin. In 1940 he c...

Chauveau, Pierre Joseph Olivier

(Encyclopedia)Chauveau, Pierre Joseph Olivier pyĕr zhôzĕfˈ ôlēvyāˈ shōvōˈ [key], 1820–90, French Canadian educator and politician, prime minister of Quebec (1867–73), b. Quebec. He became superintend...

Estrada, Joseph Marcelo Ejercito

(Encyclopedia)Estrada, Joseph Marcelo Ejercito, 1937–, Filipino actor and politician, b. Jose Marcelo Ejercito. Under the name Erap Estrada, he became a popular action-film star whose roles often cast him as a he...