Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Sylvester, James Joseph, 1814–97, English mathematician. He studied at Cambridge for four years after 1831, but because degrees were limited to members of the Church of England and he was a Jew, he ...

(Encyclopedia) Gawain, Sir gäˈwān, –wĭn [key], one of the most popular heroes of Arthurian legend; nephew of King Arthur. He was regarded, particularly in the early romances, as the model of chivalry—pure, b...

(Encyclopedia) Gray, Horace, 1828–1902, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1881–1902), b. Boston. At first a reporter (1854–61) to the Massachusetts supreme court, he later entered i...

(Encyclopedia) Edwards, Jonathan, 1703–58, American theologian and metaphysician, b. East Windsor (then in Windsor), Conn. He was a precocious child, early interested in things scientific, intellectual, and spirit...

(Encyclopedia) Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron tĕnˈĭsən [key], 1809–92, English poet. The most famous poet of the Victorian age, he was a profound spokesman for the ideas and values of his times. Tenny...

(Encyclopedia) Enron Corporation, U.S. company that in 2001 became the largest bankruptcy and stock collapse in U.S. history up to that time. The company was formed in 1985 when InterNorth purchased Houston Natural ...

(Encyclopedia) Nin, Anaïs ənīˈĭs nĭn, nēn [key], 1903–77, American writer, b. Paris. The daughter of the Spanish composer Joaquín Nin, she came to the United States as a child. She was a psychoanalytic pat...

(Encyclopedia) Brassaï bräsīˈ [key], 1899–1984, French photographer, b. Brassó, Hungary (now Braşov, Romania), as Gyula Halász. Particularly known for his nightime photographs of Paris, he studied art in Hu...

(Encyclopedia) Carlsen, Magnus (Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen), 1990–, Norwegian chess player. He became a grandmaster in 2004 at age 13, becoming the youngest player to achieve this honor, and in 2006 he won his first...

(Encyclopedia) Kalidasa käˌlĭdäˈsə [key], fl. 5th cent.?, Indian dramatist and poet. He is regarded as the greatest figure in classical Sanskrit literature. Except that he was retained by the Gupta court, no f...