Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

heraldry

(Encyclopedia)heraldry, system in which inherited symbols, or devices, called charges are displayed on a shield, or escutcheon, for the purpose of identifying individuals or families. In the Middle Ages the herald,...

Furtwängler, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Furtwängler, Wilhelm fo͝ortˈvĕng-lər [key], 1886–1954, German conductor, b. Berlin; son of Adolf Furtwängler. One of the greatest orchestral conductors of the 20th cent., he studied music in ...

carpentry

(Encyclopedia)carpentry, trade concerned with constructing wood buildings, the wooden portions of buildings, or the temporary timberwork used during the construction of buildings. It comprises the larger and more s...

Edgeworth, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Edgeworth, Maria, 1767–1849, Irish novelist; daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. She lived practically her entire life on her father's estate in Ireland. Letters for Literary Ladies (1795), her fi...

Daly, Arnold

(Encyclopedia)Daly, Arnold dāˈlē [key], 1875–1927, American actor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He first appeared on the stage in 1892. Inspired by Richard Mansfield's production of The Devil's Disciple (1897–98), Daly...

Chamberlain's Men

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlain's Men, Elizabethan theatrical company for which Shakespeare, a joint owner of the company, wrote his plays and served as actor. Organized in 1594, they performed at the Globe and at the Bl...

Eulenspiegel, Till

(Encyclopedia)Eulenspiegel, Till tĭl oiˈlən-shpēˌgəl [key] [Ger.,=owl-mirror, hence English Owlglass], a north German peasant clown of the 14th cent. who was immortalized in chapbooks describing his practical...

Abscam

(Encyclopedia)Abscam, U.S. scandal resulting from an investigation begun in 1978 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI created a front (Abdul Enterprises, Ltd., hence, Abscam) for its agents, who, posing ...

Holinshed, Raphael

(Encyclopedia)Holinshed, Raphael hŏlˈĭnz-hĕdˌ, hŏlˈĭn-shĕdˌ [key], d. c.1580, English chronicler. He was a translator who also assisted Reginald Wolfe in the preparation of a universal history, which was ...

Goldman, Edwin Franko

(Encyclopedia)Goldman, Edwin Franko, 1878–1956, American bandmaster and composer, b. Louisville, Ky.; pupil of Dvořák at the National Conservatory of Music, New York City. He played solo cornet in the Metropoli...