Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

112 results found

Aram, Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Aram, Eugene āˈrəm [key], 1704–59, English philologist, b. Yorkshire. A self-taught linguist, Aram was the first to identify the Celtic languages as related to the other languages of Europe. In 1...

Forrest, Nathan Bedford

(Encyclopedia)Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821–77, Confederate general, b. Bedford co., Tenn. (his birthplace is now in Marshall co.). At the beginning of the Civil War, Forrest, a wealthy citizen of Memphis, organi...

cornflower

(Encyclopedia)cornflower, common herb (Centaurea cyanus) of the family Asteraceae (aster family). It is a garden flower in the United States but a weed in the grainfields of Europe. It is called bluebottle or bluet...

borstal system

(Encyclopedia)borstal system bôrˈstəl [key], rehabilitation method formerly used in Great Britain for delinquent boys aged 16 to 21. The idea originated (1895) with the Gladstone Committee as an attempt to refor...

Glyndebourne Festival

(Encyclopedia)Glyndebourne Festival glīnˈdəbərn, glīnˈbôrn [key], opera festival given each summer since 1934 on the estate of John Christie at Glyndebourne, near Lewes, Sussex, England. The festival is know...

fleabane

(Encyclopedia)fleabane, any plant of the genus Erigeron, widely distributed herbs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), especially abundant in temperate and mountainous regions of North America. The flowers, ran...

Adam de la Halle

(Encyclopedia)Adam de la Halle lə bōsüˈ [key], c.1240–1287, French dramatist and poet-musician, one of the great trouvères. Many of his songs and polyphonic motets are preserved, as is the pastoral comedy wi...

Villa, Francisco

(Encyclopedia)Villa, Francisco fränsēsˈkō vēˈyä [key], c.1877–1923, Mexican revolutionary, nicknamed Pancho Villa. His real name was Doroteo Arango. When Villa came of age, he declared his freedom from the...

Marshall, Barry James

(Encyclopedia)Marshall, Barry James, 1951–, Australian physician, grad. Univ. of Western Australia (M.B., B.S., 1974). Marshall he was on the staff at the Royal Perth Hospital from 1977 to 1986 and on the faculty...

trillium

(Encyclopedia)trillium or wake-robin trĭlˈēəm [key], any plant of the large genus Trillium, attractive spring wildflowers of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to North America and E Asia. The leaves, p...