Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Celan, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Celan, Paul äntˈshschwa;l [key], 1920–70, Romanian-French poet. Although he spent his early years in Romania and his later years in France, Celan wrote in German and is widely considered the great...

Chaney, Lon

(Encyclopedia)Chaney, Lon chāˈnē [key], 1883–1930, American film actor, b. Colorado Springs, Colo. Chaney was the son of deaf-mute parents. He made more than 150 silent films. A master of the use of grotesque,...

Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux

(Encyclopedia)Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux, 1884–1951, American filmmaker and author, b. Metropolis, Ill. The son of former slaves, Micheaux first worked as a Pullman porter, then was a homesteader in South Dakota. ...

Los Angeles Philharmonic

(Encyclopedia)Los Angeles Philharmonic, founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr. After his death the Southern California Symphony Association was formed in 1934 to sponsor the orchestra. It was housed in Philh...

Cronkite, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Cronkite, Walter (Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.) krŏngˈkīt, krŏnˈ– [key], 1916–2009, American news broadcaster, b. St. Joseph, Mo. He left (1935) the Univ. of Texas to write for the Houston Pre...

Cloisters, the

(Encyclopedia)Cloisters, the, museum of medieval European art, in Fort Tryon Park, New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it was opened to the public in May, 1938. ...

Redford, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Redford, Robert, 1937–, American actor and director, b. Santa Monica, Calif., as Charles Robert Redford, Jr. One of Hollywood's superstars, he began his acting career in 1959, scoring his first big ...

Pacquiao, Manny

(Encyclopedia)Pacquiao, Manny (Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao), 1978–, Phillipine boxer and politician, b. Mindanao. From his first professional win at age 16 he has gone on to win world titles in eight different wei...

Brown, James

(Encyclopedia)Brown, James, 1933–2006, African-American rhythm-and-blues singer known as the “godfather of soul,” b. Barnwell, S.C., as James Joe Brown, Jr. Abandoned by his parents, he left school in the sev...

Browse by Subject