Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Barbour, John

(Encyclopedia)Barbour, John bärˈbər [key], c.1316?–1395, Scottish poet. He was archdeacon of Aberdeen from 1355 until his death. His romance, The Bruce (1375), celebrating Scotland's emancipation from England,...

Kendrick, John

(Encyclopedia)Kendrick, John, c.1740–1794, American sea captain, b. Massachusetts. During part of the American Revolution he commanded privateers. As commander of an expedition composed of the Columbia and Washin...

Arcot

(Encyclopedia)Arcot ärˈkŏt [key], town, Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Palar River. It is an agricultural market and has a weaving industry. It became the capital of the Muslim Nawab of Karnataka in 1712. Ar...

graveyard school

(Encyclopedia)graveyard school, 18th-century school of English poets who wrote primarily about human mortality. Often set in a graveyard, their poems mused on the vicissitudes of life, the solitude of death and the...

Graves, Alfred Percival

(Encyclopedia)Graves, Alfred Percival, 1846–1931, Irish poet. An inspector of schools, he was also twice president of the Irish literary society. He compiled several volumes of Irish music and folksongs. Included...

Hughes, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Sir Samuel, 1853–1921, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A schoolteacher and newspaper editor, he entered the House of Commons in 1892 and held a seat until his death. As minister of mi...

Hobart, city, Australia

(Encyclopedia)Hobart, city, capital and principal port of Tasmania, SE Australia, at the foot of Mt. Wellington (4,166 ft/1,270 m high). Hobart's harbor is one of the...

Palgrave, Sir Robert Harry Inglis

(Encyclopedia)Palgrave, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, 1827–1919, English banker and economist; son of Sir Francis Palgrave. He edited (1877–83) the Economist, wrote several books on economics, and served (1885) on t...

Lynd, Robert Staughton

(Encyclopedia)Lynd, Robert Staughton, 1892–1970, American sociologist, b. New Albany, Ind.; grad. Princeton (B.A., 1914), Ph.D. Columbia, 1931. He taught at Columbia for 30 years (1931–61). With his wife, Helen...

McCardell, Claire

(Encyclopedia)McCardell, Claire, 1905–58, American fashion designer, b. Frederick, Md. She began her career as a model and assistant designer for Robert Turk in 1929. Her clothes were functional with clean lines ...
 

Browse by Subject