Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

410 results found

Fundamental Orders

(Encyclopedia)Fundamental Orders, in U.S. history, the basic law of the Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662, formally adopted (Jan. 14, 1639) by representatives from the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windso...

Boston Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson, who was its director and financial backer until 1918. The orchestra performed at the Old Boston Music Hall for nearly 20 years until ...

zoning

(Encyclopedia)zoning, legislative regulations by which a municipal government seeks to control the use of buildings and land within the municipality. It has become, in the United States, a widespread method of cont...

Proulx, E. Annie

(Encyclopedia)Proulx, E. Annie (Edna Annie Proulx) pro͞o [key], 1935–, American writer, b. Norwich, Conn., grad. Univ. of Vermont (B.A., 1969), Sir George Williams (now Concordia) Univ., Montreal (M.A., 1973). S...

Paleolithic art

(Encyclopedia)Paleolithic art pāˌlēəlĭthˈĭk, –lēō–, pălˌ– [key], art produced during the Paleolithic period. Study and knowledge of this art largely have been confined to works discovered at many s...

Veronese, Paolo

(Encyclopedia)Veronese, Paolo päˈōlō vārōnāˈzā [key], 1528–88, Italian painter of the Venetian school. Named Paolo Caliari, he was called Il Veronese from his birthplace, Verona. Trained under a variety ...

Quetzalcoatl

(Encyclopedia)Quetzalcoatl kĕtˌsälkôätˈəl [key] [Nahuatl,=feathered serpent], ancient deity and legendary ruler of the Toltec in Mexico. The name is also that of a Toltec ruler, who is credited with the disc...

Weill, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Weill, Kurt ko͝ortˈ vīl [key], 1900–1950, German-American composer, b. Dessau, studied with Humperdinck and Busoni in Berlin. He first became known with the production of two short satirical surr...

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

(Encyclopedia)Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807–82, American poet, b. Portland, Maine, grad. Bowdoin College, 1825. He wrote some of the most popular poems in American literature, in which he created a new body o...

Kazan, Elia

(Encyclopedia)Kazan, Elia ĭlīˈə, ēlˈyə kəzănˈ, –zänˈ [key], 1909–2003, American stage and film director, producer, writer, actor, b. Turkey, as Elia Kazanjoglous. Immigrating with his Greek family t...