Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Menen, Aubrey Clarence

(Encyclopedia)Menen, Aubrey Clarence mĕnˈən [key], 1912–89, English novelist, b. London. The son of an Indian father and an Irish mother, he was a drama critic, theater director, and advertising agency executi...

Ladislaus IV

(Encyclopedia)Ladislaus IV, 1262–90, king of Hungary (1272–90), son and successor of Stephen V. Ladislaus became unpopular by favoring the Cumans, from whom he was descended through his mother. During his reign...

Willem-Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Willem-Alexander, 1967–, king of the Netherlands, eldest son of Queen Beatrix. He served (1985–87) in the navy and graduated (1993)from Leiden Univ.; he has been a member of the International Olym...

Wainewright, Thomas Griffiths

(Encyclopedia)Wainewright, Thomas Griffiths wānˈrīt [key], 1794–1852, English art critic and criminal. He contributed essays on the arts to the London Magazine under the pseudonyms Egomet Bonmot and Janus Weat...

Bridget of Sweden, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bridget of Sweden, Saint, c.1300–1373, Swedish nun, one of the great saints of Scandinavia. She was a noblewoman at court and the mother of eight children. After her husband's death she founded (134...

O'Brien, Edna

(Encyclopedia)O'Brien, Edna, 1932–, Irish writer. Although she moved to London in 1954, her constant theme and recurring setting is Ireland. In richly sensual prose, O'Brien explores the dreams, failed marriages,...

McNally, Terrence

(Encyclopedia)McNally, Terrence, 1939–2020, American playwright, b. St. Petersburg, Fla., grad. Columbia, 1960. Known for his dark humor, social satire, and focus on human isolation and the need to connect, he of...

Lange, Dorothea

(Encyclopedia)Lange, Dorothea, 1895–1965, American photographer, b. Hoboken, N.J. as Dorothea Nutzhorn, adopted her mother's maiden name in her twenties. From 1916 until 1932, Lange operated a portrait studio in ...

parent and child

(Encyclopedia)parent and child, legal relationship, created by biological (birth) relationship or by adoption, that confers certain rights and duties on parent and child; in some states the courts have given the no...

Roe v. Wade

(Encyclopedia)Roe v. Wade, case decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of ...