Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kahlo, Frida

(Encyclopedia)Kahlo, Frida frēˈdä käˈlō [key], 1907–54, Mexican painter, b. Coyoacán as Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón. As a result of an accident at age 15, Kahlo turned her attention from a me...

demon

(Encyclopedia)demon, supernatural being, generally malevolent in character. In general, the more civilized pagan societies came to consider demons as powerful, supernatural beings who lacked the dignity of gods and...

Aldington, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Aldington, Richard ôlˈdĭngtən [key], 1892–1962, English poet and novelist. While studying at the Univ. of London, he became acquainted with Ezra Pound and H. D. (Hilda Doolittle), whom he marrie...

Christophe, Henri

(Encyclopedia)Christophe, Henri äNrēˈ krēstôfˈ [key], 1767–1820, Haitian revolutionary leader. A freed black slave, he aided Toussaint Louverture in the liberation of Haiti and was army chief under Dessalin...

Ellison, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Ralph (Ralph Waldo Ellison), 1914–94, African-American author, b. Oklahoma City, studied Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee Univ.). Originally a trumpet player and aspiring composer, he moved...

Rolle of Hampole, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Rolle of Hampole, Richard rōl [key], c.1300–c.1349, English religious writer, a Yorkshire hermit. He wrote mainly in Latin, but his English works are important for the history of the language. Some...

balance of power

(Encyclopedia)balance of power, system of international relations in which nations seek to maintain an approximate equilibrium of power among many rivals, thus preventing the preponderance of any one state. Crucial...

Thessaly

(Encyclopedia)Thessaly thĕsˈəlē [key], largest ancient region of Greece in N central Greece. It corresponded roughly to the present-day nomes of Larissa and Tríkkala, which form part of the modern region known...

Beckmann, Max

(Encyclopedia)Beckmann, Max mäks bĕkˈmän [key], 1884–1950, German painter. A member of the Berlin secession from 1908 to 1911, he was impressionistic in his early style. A subsequent expressionistic phase was...

Ravel, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ravel, Maurice mōrēsˈ rävĕlˈ [key], 1875–1937, French composer, b. in the Pyrenees. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889, where he was later a student of Fauré. Ravel became a leading ex...