Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Mallory, George Herbert Leigh mălˈərē [key], 1886–1924, English mountain climber. After some spectacular ascents in the Alps, he participated in the Everest expeditions of 1921, 1922, and 1924. ...

(Encyclopedia) metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

(Encyclopedia) Mellon Foundation, officially the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, philanthropic trust formed (1969) through the merger of the Avalon Foundation (est. 1940 by Ailsa Mellon Bruce) and the Old Dominion Foun...

(Encyclopedia) Dunfermline dŭnförmˈlĭn, dŭm– [key], city, Fife, E central Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. It is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819–1914, American politician, Union general in the Civil War, b. New York City. A lawyer, he became active in Democratic politics, serving in the New York legislature. He wa...

(Encyclopedia) Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers Wyeth), 1882–1945, American painter and illustrator, b. Needham, Mass., studied with Howard Pyle. Among his many well-known murals are those in the Missouri state capito...

(Encyclopedia) Banneker, Benjamin, 1731–1806, African-American inventor, astronomer, and mathematician, b. Baltimore co., Md., at what is now Ellicott's Mills. A free black, Banneker was essentially self-taught. H...

(Encyclopedia) Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman, American civil-rights workers in the South during the 1960s. Michael Schwerner (b. 1939) and Andrew Goodman (b. 1943), both white New Yorkers, went to Neshoba co., Miss...

(Encyclopedia) Lowell, Francis Cabot, 1775–1817, pioneer American cotton manufacturer, b. Newburyport, Mass.; son of John Lowell (1743–1802). A merchant in Boston, he traveled (1810) to England, where he studied...

(Encyclopedia) Caruso, Enrico kəro͞oˈsō, Ital. änrēˈkō käro͞oˈzō [key], 1873–1921, Italian operatic tenor, b. Naples. The natural beauty, range, and power of his voice made him one of the greatest sing...