Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
Verdi, Giuseppe
(Encyclopedia)Verdi, Giuseppe vârˈdē, Ital. jo͞ozĕpˈpā vĕrˈdē [key], 1813–1901, foremost Italian composer of opera, b. Le Roncole. Verdi, the son of an innkeeper, showed a precocious talent for the orga...Racine, Jean
(Encyclopedia)Racine, Jean zhäN räsēnˈ [key], 1639–99, French dramatist. Racine is the prime exemplar of French classicism. The nobility of his Alexandrine verse, the simplicity of his diction, the psychologi...Rimbaud, Arthur
(Encyclopedia)Rimbaud, Arthur ärtürˈ răNbōˈ [key], 1854–91, French poet who had a great influence on the symbolists and subsequent modern poets, b. Charleville. A defiant and precocious youth, Rimbaud at 16...Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai Andreyevich
(Encyclopedia)Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai Andreyevich nyĭkəlī əndrāˈəvĭch rĭmˈskē-kôrˈsəkôf [key], 1844–1908, Russian composer; one of the group of nationalist composers called The Five. He prepared h...Chagall, Marc
(Encyclopedia)Chagall, Marc märk shəgälˈ [key], 1887–1985, Russian painter. In 1907, Chagall left his native Vitebsk for St. Petersburg, where he studied under L. N. Bakst. In Paris (1910) he began to assimil...fountain
(Encyclopedia)fountain, natural or artificially conveyed flow of water. In ancient Greece columnar shrines were built over springs and dedicated to deities or nymphs. In ancient Rome fountains fed by the great aque...Messiaen, Olivier
(Encyclopedia)Messiaen, Olivier ôlēvyāˈ mĕsyäNˈ [key], 1908–92, French composer and organist, b. Avignon. Messiaen was a pupil of Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatory. He became organist of La Trinité, Pa...MacMahon, Marie Edmé Patrice de
(Encyclopedia)MacMahon, Marie Edmé Patrice de märēˈ ĕdmāˈ pätrēsˈ də mäkmäōNˈ [key], 1808–93, president of the French republic (1873–79), marshal of France. MacMahon, of Irish descent, fought in ...Wren, Sir Christopher
(Encyclopedia)Wren, Sir Christopher, 1632–1723, English architect. A mathematical prodigy, he studied at Oxford. He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, from 1657 to 1661, when he became Savilia...Brno
(Encyclopedia)Brno bûrˈnô [key], Ger. Brünn, city, SE Czech Republic, at the confluence of the Svratka ...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
