Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Beard, Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, American illustrator and naturalist, b. Cincinnati, Ohio, studied at the Art Students League, New York City. He illustrated many books (among them the first edition ...

(Encyclopedia) Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary ăgˈəsē [key], 1822–1907, American author and educator, b. Boston. In 1850 she married Louis Agassiz, and together they established the pioneering Agassiz School for...

(Encyclopedia) elegy, in Greek and Roman poetry, a poem written in elegiac verse (i.e., couplets consisting of a hexameter line followed by a pentameter line). The form dates back to 7th cent. b.c. in Greece and poe...

(Encyclopedia) Geddes, Sir Patrick gĕdˈĭs [key], 1854–1932, Scottish biologist and sociologist, distinguished especially in town planning. He received his biological training in T. H. Huxley's laboratory; from ...

(Encyclopedia) Cash, Johnny, 1932–2003, American singer and songwriter, b. Kingsland, Ark. Born to a farm family, he went to Memphis in 1955 and recorded such hits as “I Walk the Line” (1956) and “Ring of Fi...

(Encyclopedia) contempt, in law, interference with the functioning of a legislature or court. In its narrow and more usual sense, contempt refers to the despising of the authority, justice, or dignity of a court. A ...

(Encyclopedia) wormwood, Mediterranean perennial herb or shrubby plant (Artemisia absinthium) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), often cultivated in gardens and found as an escape in North America. It has silv...

(Encyclopedia) Beatty, Warren (Henry Warren Beaty) bāˈtē, bēˈ– [key], 1937–, motion picture act...

(Encyclopedia) United Mine Workers of America (UMW), international labor union formed (1890) by the amalgamation of the National Progressive Union (organized 1888) and the mine locals under the Knights of Labor. It ...

(Encyclopedia) Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804–64, American novelist and short-story writer, b. Salem, Mass., one of the great masters of American fiction. His novels and tales are penetrating explorations of moral and...