Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

227 results found

Skelton, John

(Encyclopedia)Skelton, John, 1460–1529, English poet and humanist. Tutor to Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), he later (c.1502) became rector of Diss, Norfolk. In 1512 he began to call himself royal orator, a posi...

Shrewsbury, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Shrewsbury bərē [key], city (1991 pop. 57,731), adminstrative center of Shropshire, W England, on the Severn River. Shrewsbury is a road and rail junction with varied manufactures. It was an ancient...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

filibuster

(Encyclopedia)filibuster, term used to designate obstructionist tactics in legislative assemblies. It has particular reference to the U.S. Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is very strong. It was not ...

Eggleston, William

(Encyclopedia)Eggleston, William (William Joseph Eggleston, Jr.), 1939–, American photographer credited with establishing color photography as an art form, b. Memphis Tenn. His early work in black and white was i...

echidna, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)echidna ĭkĭdˈnə [key] or spiny anteater, animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect its...

Thomson, James , 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, James, 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist. He is remembered for his darkly pessimistic poem The City of Dreadful Night. He was raised in an orphan asylum and became (1851) an army teacher ...

Snow, C. P.

(Encyclopedia)Snow, C. P. (Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of Leicester), 1905–80, English author and physicist. Snow had an active, varied career, including several important positions in the British government. ...

Kazin, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Kazin, Alfred kāˈzĭn [key], 1915–98, American critic, b. New York City, grad. College of the City of New York (B.S., 1935) and Columbia (M.A., 1938). Kazin was one of the outstanding literary cri...

Wolf, Hugo

(Encyclopedia)Wolf, Hugo vôlf [key], 1860–1903, Austrian composer; studied at the Vienna Conservatory. From 1883 to 1887 he wrote musical criticism for the Vienna Salonblatt. As a composer he first gained atten...