Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

406 results found

Maritain, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Maritain, Jacques zhäk märētăNˈ [key], 1882–1973, French Neo-Thomist philosopher. He was educated at the Sorbonne and the Univ. of Heidelberg and was much influenced by the philosophy of Henri ...

Tallahassee

(Encyclopedia)Tallahassee tăləhăsˈē [key], city (1990 pop. 124,773), state capital and seat of Leon co., NW Fla.; inc. 1825. Tallahassee is a wholesale trade and distribution center for the surrounding lumber,...

Salamanca, city, Spain

(Encyclopedia)Salamanca, city (1990 pop. 162,037), capital of Salamanca prov., W central Spain, in Castile and León, on the Tormes River, c.2,600 ft (790 m) above sea level. Food-processing and tourism are its mos...

Césaire, Aimé

(Encyclopedia)Césaire, Aimé (Aimé Fernand Césaire) ĕmāˈ fĕrnäNˈ sāzârˈ [key], 1913–2008, West Indian poet and essayist who wrote in French. After studying in Paris he became concerned with the plight...

Peter the Cruel

(Encyclopedia)Peter the Cruel, 1334–69, Spanish king of Castile and León (1350–69), son and successor of Alfonso XI. His desertion of his wife, Blanche of Bourbon, for María Padilla and his favors to the Padi...

Christie, Dame Agatha

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Dame Agatha, 1890–1976, English detective story writer, b. Torquay, Devon, as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Christie's second husband was the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she gained ...

Hartmann, Nicolai

(Encyclopedia)Hartmann, Nicolai nēˈkōlī [key], 1882–1950, German philosopher, b. Latvia. He taught at Marburg (1922–25), Cologne (1925–31), Berlin (1931–45), and Göttingen (1945–50). Abandoning his e...

Caesar, Sid

(Encyclopedia)Caesar, Sid (Isaac Sidney Caesar), 1922–2014, American comedian, one of the stars of the “golden age of live television,” b. Yonkers, N.Y. While performing in a World War II military show he met...

theremin

(Encyclopedia)theremin thĕrˈəmən [key], one of the earliest electronic musical instruments, invented (1920) in the Soviet Union and named for its creator, Leon Theremin. A forerunner of the synthesizer, it cons...

Simon, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Simon, Jules zhül sēmôNˈ [key], 1814–96, French statesman. His full name was Jules François Simon Suisse. He taught philosophy at the Sorbonne from 1839 to 1852, during which time he edited the...