Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ellison, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Ralph (Ralph Waldo Ellison), 1914–94, African-American author, b. Oklahoma City, studied Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee Univ.). Originally a trumpet player and aspiring composer, he moved...

Stewart, Potter

(Encyclopedia)Stewart, Potter, 1915–85, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1958–81), b. Jackson, Mich. After receiving (1941) his law degree from Yale, he was admitted to the Ohio bar. He later practi...

signing statement

(Encyclopedia)signing statement, written comment issued by the executive of a government when signing a bill into law. In the United States, such statements have traditionally been comparatively neutral declaration...

National Gallery of Art

(Encyclopedia)National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, established by an act of Congress, 1937. Andrew W. Mellon donated funds for construction of the building as well...

Bull Run

(Encyclopedia)Bull Run, small stream, NE Va., c.30 mi (50 km) SW of Washington, D.C. Two important battles of the Civil War were fought there: the first on July 21, 1861, and the second Aug. 29–30, 1862. Both bat...

Mivart, St. George Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Mivart, St. George Jackson mīˈvərt [key], 1827–1900, English anatomist and biologist. He contributed important anatomical studies of the insectivores and carnivores. He was converted to Roman Cat...

spiritual

(Encyclopedia)spiritual, a religious folk song of American origin, particularly associated with African-American Protestants of the southern United States. The African-American spiritual, characterized by syncopati...

Wilde, Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Wilde, Oscar (Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde), 1854–1900, Irish author and wit, b. Dublin. He is most famous for his sophisticated, brilliantly witty plays, which were the first since the come...
 

Browse by Subject