Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Glubb, Sir John Bagot

(Encyclopedia)Glubb, Sir John Bagot băgˈət [key], 1897–1986, British soldier. He served in France during World War I and in 1920 was posted to Iraq, where he lived among Arab Bedouins and studied their languag...

Gelman, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Gelman, Juan, 1930–2014, Argentine poet, b. Buenos Aires. He published more than 20 books of verse. Many of his poems reflect his left-wing political views, speaking out against oppression and injus...

Cummings, E. E.

(Encyclopedia)Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin Cummings), 1894–1962, American poet, b. Cambridge, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1915. His poetry, noted for its eccentricities of typography (notably the lack of capitalizati...

Charles I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 1863–1908, king of Portugal (1889–1908), son and successor of Louis I. A cultured man, learned in language and oceanography, Charles had little opportunity to display his administrative...

Chorotega

(Encyclopedia)Chorotega chōrōtāˈgä [key], aboriginal people and language group of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Little is known of the Chorotega, primarily beause of the absence of extensive ruins. Cont...

Popol Vuh

(Encyclopedia)Popol Vuh pōpōlˈ vo͞oˈ [key] [Quiché,=collection of the council], sacred book of the Quiché. The most important document of the cosmogony, religion, mythology, migratory traditions, and history...

Tsvetayeva, Marina Ivanovna

(Encyclopedia)Tsvetayeva or Tsvetaeva, Marina Ivanovna tsvyĭtäˈyəvə [key], 1892–1941, Russian poet. She was a major Russian poet, who survived the civil war, emigrated to Prague and Paris, and returned to Ru...

Tungus

(Encyclopedia)Tungus to͝onko͝ozˈ [key], Siberian ethnic group, numbering perhaps 30,000. They are subdivided into the Evenki, who live in the area from the Yenisei and Ob river basins to the Pacific Ocean and fr...

Punch and Judy

(Encyclopedia)Punch and Judy, famous English puppet play, very popular with children and given widely by strolling puppet players, especially during the Christmas season. It came to England in the 17th cent. by way...

Psalmanazar, George

(Encyclopedia)Psalmanazar, George sălˌmənāˈzər [key], 1679?–1763, English literary imposter. His real name is not known. Born and educated in France, he developed a marked ability in learning languages. He ...