Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ségou

(Encyclopedia)Ségou or Segu both: sāgo͞oˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 85,000), SW Mali, a port on the Niger River. It is the administrative and commercial center for an area where cotton, rice, millet, and pean...

Smith, David

(Encyclopedia)Smith, David, 1906–65, American sculptor, b. Decatur, Ind. He arrived in New York City in 1926 and studied painting at the Art Students League. In the 1930s he began experimenting with sculpture and...

Alcott, Louisa May

(Encyclopedia)Alcott, Louisa May, 1832–88, American author, b. Germantown, Pa.; daughter of Bronson Alcott. Mostly educated by her father, she was a friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and her first book, Flower Fable...

9/11

(Encyclopedia)9/11, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States, and the associated events and impact of those attacks. The attacks, which were carried out by agents of Al Qaeda (a militant Islami...

Drayton, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Drayton, Michael, 1563–1631, English poet. The son of a prosperous tradesman, he received his educational training in the house of Sir Henry Goodere, where he served as page. There he made a lasting...

Ajmer

(Encyclopedia)Ajmer ăjmērˈ, əj– [key], former state, NW India. Now part of Rajasthan state, it formerly consisted of two detached areas surrounded by Rajasthan and was identical w...

Eliasson, Olafur

(Encyclopedia)Eliasson, Olafur, 1967–, Danish sculptor, architect, and installation artist. His work is influenced by nature and natural phenomena. Early works involved frozen water droplets, electric fans, and s...

Hassam, Childe

(Encyclopedia)Hassam, Childe (Frederick Childe Hassam) chīld hăsˈəm [key], 1859–1935, American painter and printmaker, b. Boston, studied in Paris. With their flickering light and airy palette, Hassam's sprig...

Haftar, Khalifa

(Encyclopedia)Haftar, Khalifa, 1943–, Libyan military officer. He participated in the 1969 coup that brought Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi to power and then held a variety of posts in the military. In the 1980s he w...

harem

(Encyclopedia)harem hârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent of Islam, the ve...