Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Simmons, Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Simmons, Ruth, 1945–, American educator and college president, b. Grapeland, Tex., grad. Dillard Univ. (B.A., 1967) and Harvard (A.M., 1970; Ph.D., 1973). As a scholar she was primarily concerned wi...

Miranda, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Miranda, Francisco de fränsēˈskō ᵺā mēränˈdä [key], 1750–1816, Venezuelan revolutionist and adventurer. A hero of the struggle for independence from Spain, he is sometimes called the Prec...

Vivarini

(Encyclopedia)Vivarini vēvärēˈnē [key], Italian family of painters originating in Murano. They executed innumerable altarpieces that reflect the trends of the 15th cent. in northern Italian painting, from Gent...

zoological garden

(Encyclopedia)zoological garden or zoo, public or private park where living animals are kept for exhibition and study. The menageries and aviaries of China, Egypt, and Rome were famous in ancient times. From the la...

War of Independence

(Encyclopedia)War of Independence: 1 In Spanish history, see Peninsular War, 1808–14. 2 In U.S. history, see American Revolution. ...

Porter, Arthur Kingsley

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Arthur Kingsley, 1883–1933, American art historian. Interested primarily in medieval and ancient art, Porter revolutionized the understanding of the chronology and diffusion of Romanesque sc...

lute

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Lute lute, musical instrument that has a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, which are plucked with the fingers. The long lute, with its neck much longer t...

Roderick

(Encyclopedia)Roderick rŏdˈərĭk [key], d. 711?, last Visigothic king in Spain (710–711?). After the death of King Witiza, a group of nobles chose Roderick, duke of Baetica, as successor to the king. Having de...

Burke, Kenneth Duva

(Encyclopedia)Burke, Kenneth Duva, 1897–1993, American critic, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. He was music critic for The Dial (1927–29) and The Nation (1934–36). A profound thinker whose writings have influenced other c...

Burton, Ernest De Witt

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Ernest De Witt, 1856–1925, American biblical scholar, b. Granville, Ohio. From 1882 to 1923 he served as professor of New Testament literature and interpretation at the Univ. of Chicago, of ...