Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Marryat, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Marryat, Frederick mărˈēăt [key], 1792–1848, English novelist. He is famous for his thrilling tales of sea adventure. His 24 years of service in the British navy in various parts of the world pr...

Kronos

(Encyclopedia)Kronos or Cronus both: krōˈnəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, the youngest Titan, son of Uranus and Gaea. With the help of his mother, he led the Titans in the revolt against Uranus and ru...

Vergil

(Encyclopedia)Vergil or Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) both: vûrˈjil [key], 70 b.c.–19 b.c., Roman poet, b. Andes dist., near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul; the spelling Virgil is not found earlier than the 5th ce...

Williams, C. K.

(Encyclopedia)Williams, C. K. (Charles Kenneth Williams), 1936–2015, American poet, b. Newark, N.J., grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1959. He wrote more than 20 books of poetry, rich in detail, with complex syntax a...

Cox, Palmer

(Encyclopedia)Cox, Palmer, 1840–1924, American author and artist, b. Granby, Que. He is famous as the writer and illustrator of the Brownie stories for children (13 vol., 1887–1925). ...

Ebadi, Shirin

(Encyclopedia)Ebadi, Shirin shērēn ĕbôdēˈ [key], 1947–, Iranian jurist, author, and human-rights activist. From a family of distinguished jurists, she obtained her law degree (1969) and doctorate (1971) fro...

Van Doren, Carl (Clinton)

(Encyclopedia)Van Doren, Carl (Clinton), 1885–1950, American editor and author, b. Hope, Vermilion co., Ill., grad. Univ. of Illinois, 1907, Ph.D. Columbia, 1911; brother of Mark Van Doren. He lectured at Columbi...

McEwan, Ian

(Encyclopedia)McEwan, Ian (Ian Russell McEwan) məkyo͞oˈən [key], 1948–, English novelist, b. Aldershot, B.A. Univ. of Sussex, 1970, M.A. Univ. of East Anglia, 1971. His early short-story collections, First Lo...

mumps

(Encyclopedia)mumps (epidemic parotitis), acute contagious viral disease, manifesting itself chiefly in pain and swelling of the salivary glands, especially those at the angle of the jaw. Other symptoms are fever, ...

Menéndez Pidal, Ramón

(Encyclopedia)Menéndez Pidal, Ramón rämōnˈ mānānˈdĕth pēᵺälˈ [key], 1869–1968, Spanish scholar and philologist. Menéndez Pidal was a noted authority on Spanish epic literature and the Spanish langu...

Browse by Subject