Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and conven...

(Encyclopedia) Fletcher, John, 1579–1625, English dramatist, b. Rye, Sussex, educated at Cambridge. A member of a prominent literary family, he began writing for the stage about 1606, first with Francis Beaumont, ...

(Encyclopedia) Price, Sterling, 1809–67, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Prince Edward co., Va. After moving to Missouri, he practiced law and entered politics. He served in Congress (1844–46),...

(Encyclopedia) Ross, Sir James Clark, 1800–1862, British polar explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he accompanied his uncle, Sir John Ross, in search of the Northwest Passage and commanded the Erebus. He later stud...

(Encyclopedia) Sanusi or Senussi both: səno͞oˈsĭ [key], Arabic Sanusiyya, a political-religious organization in Libya and Sudan founded in Mecca in 1837 by Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanusi (1791–1859), known as the ...

(Encyclopedia) Godwin, William, 1756–1836, English author and political philosopher. A minister in his youth, he was, however, plagued by religious doubts and gave up preaching in 1783 for a literary career. His E...

(Encyclopedia) Mundell, Robert A., 1932–2021, Canadian economist, b. Kingston, Ont., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. , 1956). He taught at a number of u...

(Encyclopedia) Briggs, Clare A., 1875–1930, American cartoonist, b. Reedsburg, Wis. He won a national reputation with the contributions he made to the Chicago Tribune from 1907 to 1914. From 1914 until his death h...

(Encyclopedia) F. P. A.: see Adams, Franklin Pierce. ...

(Encyclopedia) Sturdza, Dimitrie A.: see Sturza, Dimitrie A. ...