Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Oliveros, Pauline

(Encyclopedia)Oliveros, Pauline, 1932–2016, American composer and musician, b. Houston, Tex., studied Univ. of Houston, San Francisco State College (B.A., 1957). She began playing the accordion as a child, and it...

Paiute

(Encyclopedia)Paiute pīo͞otˈ [key], two distinct groups of Native North Americans speaking languages belonging to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native A...

Malthus, Thomas Robert

(Encyclopedia)Malthus, Thomas Robert mălˈthəs [key], 1766–1834, English economist, sociologist, and pioneer in modern population study. A graduate of Cambridge, he was a professor at the East India College, Lo...

Kienholz, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Kienholz, Edward kēnˈhóltz [key], 1927–94, American sculptor, b. Fairfield, Wash. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 and was a painter until the late 1950s, when he began to create sculptural relief...

Botero, Fernando

(Encyclopedia)Botero, Fernando, 1932–, Colombian figurative painter and sculptor, b. Medellín, one of the most celebrated contemporary Latin American artists. He attended his native city's university (grad. 1950...

Cassavetes, John

(Encyclopedia)Cassavetes, John 1929–89, American film actor and director, a pioneer of independent filmmaking, b. New York City. The son of Greek immigrants, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and ...

Cavafy, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Cavafy, Constantine kônˌstäntēˈnôs pāˈtro͞o käväˈfēs [key], 1863–1933, Greek poet. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he spent most of his life there, but lived for about five years in England....

Taylor, James Vernon

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, James Vernon, 1948-, American singer-songwriter, b. Boston, Ma. Taylor was born in Boston but raised in Chapel Hill, N.C. As a teenager, he be...

Wilson, Lanford

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Lanford, 1937–2011, American playwright, b. Lebanon, Mo. An important figure in modern drama, he was a master of earthy, realistic dialogue in which monologue, conversation, and direct addre...

Vaughan Williams, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872–1958, English composer, considered the outstanding composer of his generation in England. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1894 and studied composition ...

Browse by Subject