Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Larkin, Philip, 1922–85, English poet. He graduated from St. John's College, Oxford (B.A., 1943; M.A., 1947) and was for many years librarian at the Univ. of Hull. With an eye for the ordinary and a...

(Encyclopedia)  McCarthy, Gina (Regina McCarthy), 1954- , American environmentalist and government official, Brighton, Ma., Univ. of Ma., Boston (B.A., 1976), Tufts U...

(Encyclopedia) Highsmith, Patricia, 1921–95, American novelist, b. Fort Worth, Tex., as Mary Patricia Plangman, grad. Barnard College (B.A. 1942). She first traveled to Europe in 1949 and moved there in 1963, livi...

(Encyclopedia) Nauman, Bruce nouˈmən [key], 1941–, American artist, b. Fort Wayne, Ind., B.A. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (1964), M.F.A. Univ. of California, Davis (1966). One of the most innovative and influent...

(Encyclopedia) Ondaatje, Michael (Philip Michael Ondaatje) ändätˈchā [key], 1943–, Canadian writer, b. Colombo, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Immigrating (1962) to Canada, he attended the Univ. of Toronto (B.A., 19...

(Encyclopedia) Baal-Shem-Tov bäl-shĕm-tôv [key], c.1698–1760, Jewish founder of modern Hasidism, b. Ukraine. His life is the subject of many tales that circulated even before his death. Originally named Israel ...

(Encyclopedia) Assad, Bashar al- bäshärˈ äl-äsˈsäd [key], 1965–, Syrian political leader, son of Hafez al-Assad. A medical doctor, he left Syria (1992) for an ophthamology residency i...

(Encyclopedia) Mellon, Paul, 1907–99, American philanthropist and art collector, b. Pittsburgh. The son of Andrew W. Mellon, he attended Yale (B.A., 1929) and Clare College, Cambridge (A.B., 1931). He worked brief...