Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Castor and Pollux

(Encyclopedia)Castor and Pollux pŏlˈəks [key], in classical mythology, twin heroes called the Dioscuri; Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus, Pollux the son of Leda and Zeus. They were brothers to Helen and ...

Knussen, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Knussen, Oliver (Stuart Oliver Knussen), 1952–2018, British composer, conductor, and teacher, b. Glasgow, Scotland. A musical prodigy, he began to compose at age 6 and studied with, among others, Gu...

O'Connor, Thomas Power

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Thomas Power, 1848–1929, Irish journalist and politician, known as Tay Pay [i.e., T. P.] O'Connor. In 1879 he won public notice for his hostile biography of Benjamin Disraeli. In Parliamen...

Johnson, Martin Elmer

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Martin Elmer, 1884–1937, American explorer and author, b. Rockford, Ill. He left home at 14 to work his way to Europe on a cattle boat, returning as a stowaway. He then joined the crew of J...

American Civil Liberties Union

(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...

lilac

(Encyclopedia)lilac, any plant of the genus Syringa, deciduous Old World shrubs or small trees of the family Oleaceae (olive family), widely cultivated as ornamentals. Since colonial days, the common lilac has been...

lyric

(Encyclopedia)lyric, in ancient Greece, a poem accompanied by a musical instrument, usually a lyre. Although the word is still often used to refer to the songlike quality in poetry, it is more generally used to ref...

Bridger, James

(Encyclopedia)Bridger, James, 1804–81, American fur trader, one of the most celebrated of the mountain men, b. Virginia. He was working as a blacksmith in St. Louis when he joined the Missouri River expedition of...

Perth Amboy

(Encyclopedia)Perth Amboy ămˈboi [key], city (1990 pop. 41,962), Middlesex co., NE N.J., with a harbor on Arthur Kill at the mouth of the Raritan River, which is crossed there to Staten Island, N.Y., by the Outer...

Monk, Meredith Jane

(Encyclopedia)Monk, Meredith Jane, 1942–, American dancer, choreographer, composer, singer, director, and filmmaker, b. Lima, Peru, grad. Sarah Lawrence College, 1964. A major figure in the avant-garde, she began...
 

Browse by Subject