Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) white alder, deciduous shrub or small tree (Clethra alnifolia) native to the Appalachians, named for the resemblance of its leaves to those of the unrelated true alders. It is cultivated as an ornamen...

(Encyclopedia) Richardson, Henry Handel, pseud. of Ethel Richardson Robertson, 1870–1946, Australian novelist, b. Melbourne. Her years of study at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, were reflected in her...

(Encyclopedia) Saito, Makoto mäkōˈtō sīˈtō [key], 1858–1936, Japanese admiral and statesman. A moderate militarist, his selection as prime minister (1932–34) to replace Ki Inukai, who had been assassinate...

(Encyclopedia) Gippius, Zinaida Nikolayevna zēnīēˈdə nyĭkəlīˈəvnə gēˈpēo͝os [key], pseud. Anton Krainy, 1869–1945, Russian writer. Her St. Petersburg salon was a meeting place (1905–17) for young ...

(Encyclopedia) Gutzkow, Karl Ferdinand kärl fĕrˈdēnänt go͝otsˈkō [key], 1811–78, German writer. He entered journalism in 1831 and became a leader of the antiromantic and nationally conscious literary movem...

(Encyclopedia) coconut, fruit of the coco palm (Cocos nucifera), a tree widely distributed through tropical regions. The seed is peculiarly adapted to dispersal by water because the large pod holding the nut is buoy...

(Encyclopedia) herring, common name for members of the large, widely distributed family Clupeidae, comprising many species of marine and freshwater food fishes, including the sardine (Sardinia), the menhaden (Brevoo...

(Encyclopedia) Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich po͝oshˈkĭn, Rus. əlyĭksänˈdər syĭrgāˈyəvĭch po͞oshˈkĭn [key], 1799–1837, Russian poet and prose writer, among the foremost figures in Russian literatur...

(Encyclopedia) Lindgren, Astrid, 1907–2002, Swedish author of children's fiction, b. Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson. She worked as a secretary before turning to writing as a profession and later was a children's book...

(Encyclopedia) Ivan VI, 1740–64, czar of Russia (1740–41), great-grandson of Ivan V. He was the son of Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and of Anna Leopoldovna. An infant, he succeeded his great-a...