Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Interpol

(Encyclopedia)Interpol, acronym for the International Criminal Police Organization, a worldwide clearinghouse for police information. Conceived in 1914, Interpol was formally established in 1923 with headquarters a...

house plants

(Encyclopedia)house plants, varied group of plants grown indoors and requiring no special care. They are usually grown singly in pots, but can also be grouped and planted together in dish gardens and terrariums. So...

Hamilton, Emma, Lady

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 1765?–1815, mistress of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. Born Emma Lyon, she became the mistress of Charles Greville, then of Sir William Hamilton, ambassador to Naples, ...

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich ēvänˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch gənchərôfˈ [key], 1812–91, Russian novelist. Goncharov was a government official from 1835 to 1867. His realistic and satirical nov...

Latin America

(Encyclopedia)Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Arge...

Watts-Dunton, Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Watts-Dunton, Theodore (Walter Theodore Watts-Dunton), 1832–1914, English poet, novelist, and critic. A member of the staff of the Examiner (1874–76), he became editor of the Athenaeum (1876–98)...

Balenciaga, Cristóbal

(Encyclopedia)Balenciaga, Cristóbal krĭstōˈbäl bälĕnthyäˈgä [key], 1895–1972, Spanish-born French fashion designer. He established houses of couture in Spain (1919–31) and Paris (1937–68) and quickl...

Graves, Robert Ranke

(Encyclopedia)Graves, Robert Ranke, 1895–1985, English poet, novelist, and critic; son of Alfred Percival Graves. He established his reputation with Good-bye to All That (1929), an outspoken book on his war exper...

Walton, Sir William Turner

(Encyclopedia)Walton, Sir William Turner, 1902–83, English composer, b. Oldham. Walton studied at Oxford. One of his earliest works was a piano quartet (1918–19). In 1923, Façade, satirical poems by Edith Sitw...

Buber, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Buber, Martin bo͞oˈbĕr [key], 1878–1965, Jewish philosopher, b. Vienna. Educated at German ...