Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Burr, Aaron

(Encyclopedia)Burr, Aaron, 1756–1836, American political leader, b. Newark, N.J., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Soon after Hamilton's death, Burr left Washington on a journey to New Orleans, at t...

Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich

(Encyclopedia)Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich ēˈgər fyôˈdərôˌvyĭch strəvĭnˈskē [key], 1882–1971, Russian-American composer. Considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th cent., ...

Seward, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Seward, William Henry, 1801–72, American statesman, b. Florida, Orange co., N.Y. In 1861, Seward became Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln, and many expected him to be the real power in th...

Bauhaus

(Encyclopedia)Bauhaus bouˈhous [key], artists' collective and school of art and architecture in Germany (1919–33). The Bauhaus revolutionized art training by combining the teaching of classic arts with the study...

Vietnam War

(Encyclopedia)Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. The war began soon after th...

Eakins, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Eakins, Thomas āˈkĭnz [key], 1844–1916, American painter, photographer, and sculptor, b. Philadelphia, where he worked most of his life. Eakins is considered the foremost American portrait painte...

algae

(Encyclopedia)algae ălˈjē [key] [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plan...

civil service

(Encyclopedia)civil service, entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the military and excluding elected officials. The term was used in designating the British administration of I...

Antwerp, city, Belgium

(Encyclopedia)Antwerp, Du. Antwerpen, Fr. Anvers, city (2020 pop. 1,042,000), capital of Antwerp prov., N Belgium, on the Scheldt River. It is one of the busiest ports in Europe; a commercial, in...

Rubens, Peter Paul

(Encyclopedia)Rubens, Peter Paul, 1577–1640, foremost Flemish painter of the 17th cent., b. Siegen, Westphalia, where his family had gone into exile because of his father's Calvinist beliefs. Almost every princ...

Browse by Subject