Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ficino, Marsilio märsēˈlyō fēchēˈnō [key], 1433–99, Italian philosopher. Under the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, Ficino became the most influential exponent of Platonism in Italy in the 15...

(Encyclopedia) Biddle, Francis Beverley, 1886–1968, U.S. Attorney General (1941–45), b. Paris, France, of American parents. Secretary to Associate Justice O. W. Holmes (1912), he became a successful corporation ...

(Encyclopedia) Griswold v. Connecticut, case decided in 1965 by the U.S. Supreme Court, establishing a right to privacy in striking down a Connecticut ban on the sale of contraceptives. The Court, through Justice Wi...

(Encyclopedia) Parkman, Francis, 1823–93, American historian, b. Boston. In 1846, Parkman started a journey along the Oregon Trail to improve his health and study the Native Americans. On his return to Boston he c...

(Encyclopedia) Jaspers, Karl kärl yäsˈpərs [key], 1883–1969, German philosopher and psychopathologist, b. Oldenburg. After receiving his medical degree (1909) he became (1914) lecturer in psychology and in 192...

(Encyclopedia) Douglas, William, 1st earl of Douglas and Mar, 1327?–1384, Scottish nobleman; nephew of Sir James de Douglas, lord of Douglas. About 1348 he returned to Scotland from France and recaptured the Dougl...

(Encyclopedia) Rosenberg Case, in U.S. history, a lengthy and controversial espionage case. In 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Julius Rosenberg (1918–53), an electrical engineer who had worked (...

(Encyclopedia) Long, John Luther, 1861–1927, American playwright, b. Hanover, Pa. In 1900, in collaboration with David Belasco, he dramatized his short story “Madame Butterfly” (1897), which Puccini later made...

(Encyclopedia) Michal mīˈkəl [key], in the Bible, wife of David and daughter of Saul. See Merab. ...

(Encyclopedia) Pirathon pĭrˈəthŏn [key], in the Bible, unidentified place, central ancient Palestine, the native town of one of David's captains, Benaiah, and of one of the judges, Abdon. It is probably identica...