Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Wilde, Oscar (Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde), 1854–1900, Irish author and wit, b. Dublin. He is most famous for his sophisticated, brilliantly witty plays, which were the first since the come...

(Encyclopedia) Bloomington. 1 City (2020 pop. 78,680), seat of McLean co., central Ill.; inc. 1839. The economy is based on farming; electrical equipment is also ...

(Encyclopedia) Floyd, John Buchanan, 1807–63, U.S. Secretary of War (1857–60) and Confederate general, b. Smithfield, Va. After failing as a lawyer and cotton planter in Arkansas, he returned to Virginia and pra...

(Encyclopedia)  Tyson, Cecily, 1924-2021, American actress, b. East Harlem, N.Y. Of Caribbean heritage, Tyson began working as a model while studying acting in the la...

(Encyclopedia) Gish, Lillian, 1896–1993, American stage and movie actress, b. Springfield, Ohio. In 1912 she began her film career with D. W. Griffith. A fragile, delicate beauty, Gish often played a heroine rescu...

(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer) mûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most accomplished wordsmiths, began...

(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) Moneo, Rafael (José Rafael Moneo), 1937–, Spanish architect, b. Tudela, Navarre. He received undergraduate (1961) and doctoral (1965) degrees from the Madrid School of Architecture, worked (1960–...

(Encyclopedia) Biloxi bĭlŭkˈsē [key], city (2020 pop. 49,449), Harrison co., SE Miss., on a peninsula be...