Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ross, George, 1730–79, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. New Castle, Del. He was a lawyer in Lancaster, Pa., and a member of the colonial ass...

(Encyclopedia) Alonso, Alicia älēˈsyä älōnˈsō [key], 1921–2019, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, b. Havana as Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez y del Hoyo. Alonso danced in Broadway musi...

(Encyclopedia) Leyster, Judith, 1609–60, painter of Holland's 17th-century “golden age,” one of the few women artists prior to the late 19th cent. whose work has been recognized. She is thought to have studied...

(Encyclopedia) Orvieto ōrvyĕˈtō [key], city (1991 pop. 21,419), in Umbria, central Italy, on the Poglia River. Situated at the top of a rocky hill, it is a tourist and pilgrimage center. Orvieto is probably loca...

(Encyclopedia) Fouquet or Foucquet, Jean or Jehan all: zhäN fo͞okāˈ [key], c.1420–c.1480, French painter and illuminator. He was summoned to Rome in the 1440s to paint the portrait (now lost) of Pope Eugenius ...

(Encyclopedia) Kwakiutl kwäˈkēo͞oˌtəl [key], group of closely related Native North Americans who inhabit N Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland of British Columbia, Canada. They, together with the Nootka...

(Encyclopedia) Benedict, Ruth Fulton, 1887–1948, American anthropologist, b. New York City, grad. Vassar, 1909, Ph.D. Columbia, 1923. She was a student and later a colleague of Franz Boas at Columbia, where she ta...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Edward, 1881–1959, Canadian tenor and operatic manager, b. Guelph, Ont. As Eduardo di Giovanni, he sang in Italian opera houses (1912–19). In 1920 he joined the Chicago Opera Company and ...

(Encyclopedia) Benevoli, Orazio ōräˈtsyō bānāvôˈlē [key], 1605–72, Italian composer. From 1646 until his death Benevoli was maestro di cappella at the Vatican. He wrote a large quantity of sacred music, m...

(Encyclopedia) Orcagna ärkäˈnyōlō [key], c.1308–1368, Florentine painter, sculptor, and architect, whose original name was Andrea di Cione. He was one of the leading artists of his day. According to Vasari, w...