Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) March, Fredric, 1897–1975, American actor, b. Racine, Wis., as Frederick McIntyre Bickel. Equally distinguished on stage and screen, he won Academy Awards for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and The ...

(Encyclopedia) Gumilev, Nikolai Stepanovich nyĭkəlīˈ styĭpäˈnəvĭch go͞omēlyôfˈ [key], 1886–1921, Russian poet. With his wife, the poet Anna Akhmatova, and Gorodetsky Gumilev, he founded the Acmeist sc...

(Encyclopedia) John II (John Comnenus) kŏmnēˈnəs [key], 1088–1143, Byzantine emperor (1118–43), son and successor of Alexius I. He was crowned despite the intrigues of his sister, Anna Comnena, and of his mo...

(Encyclopedia) defense mechanism, in psychoanalysis, any of a variety of unconscious personality reactions which the ego uses to protect the conscious mind from threatening feelings and perceptions. Sigmund Freud fi...

(Encyclopedia) Travis, William Barrett trăvˈĭs [key], 1809–36, hero of the Texas Revolution, b. Edgefield co., S.C. He moved to Claiborne, Ala., where he practiced law. Travis later moved (1831) to Texas and so...

(Encyclopedia) Erikson, Erik, 1902–94, American psychoanalyst, b. Germany. As a young man he traveled throughout Europe. He became a teacher in a Vienna private school and trained as a psychoanalyst (1927–33) un...

(Encyclopedia) Andersson, Bibi, 1935–2019, Swedish actress best known for her work with director Ingmar Bergman, b. Berit Elizabeth Andersson. Her films with Bergman included The Seventh Seal (1957); Wild Strawber...

(Encyclopedia) Lichfield, town (1991 pop. 25,408) and district, Staffordshire, W central England. Lichfield is a market town with light industries, famous for its three-spired cathedral and its close associations wi...

(Encyclopedia) Darwin, Erasmus, 1731–1802, English physician and poet. During most of his life he practiced medicine in Lichfield and cultivated a botanical garden. He was a prominent member of the Lichfield liter...

(Encyclopedia) Herrera, José Joaquín ārāˈrä [key], 1792–1854, president of Mexico (1844–45, 1848–51). Rising to power after the collapse of Santa Anna's second presidential administration, he incurred t...