Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Baroda bərōˈdə [key], former native state, now incorporated in Gujarat state, W central I...

(Encyclopedia) Frazee, John frāˈzē [key], 1790–1852, American pioneer sculptor, b. Rahway, N.J. Without formal instruction, he advanced from tombstone cutting to portrait busts, including those of Daniel Webste...

(Encyclopedia) Odets, Clifford ōdĕtsˈ [key], 1906–63, American dramatist, b. Philadelphia. After graduating from high school he became an actor and in 1931 joined the Group Theatre. Turning his attention from a...

(Encyclopedia) Mitchum, Robert (Robert Charles Duran Mitchum), 1917–97, American film actor, b. Bridgeport, Conn. He found extra work and bit parts in early 1940s movies, and first achieved wide notice for his sup...

(Encyclopedia) Langland, William, c.1332–c.1400, putative author of Piers Plowman. He was born probably at Ledbury near the Welsh marshes and may have gone to school at Great Malvern Priory. Although he took minor...

(Encyclopedia) Adams, Samuel, 1722–1803, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Boston, Mass.; second cousin of John Adams. An unsuccessful businessman, he becam...

(Encyclopedia) Alger, Horatio ălˈjər [key], 1834–99, American writer of boys' stories, b. Revere, Mass. He wrote over 100 books for boys, the first, Ragged Dick, being published in 1867. By leading exemplary li...

(Encyclopedia) Kuan Han-ch'ing kwänˈ hän-chĭngˈ [key], c.1240–c.1320, Chinese playwright of the Yüan dynasty. He resided mainly in the capital Ta-tu (Beijing), where he acquired a reputation as a libertine. ...

(Encyclopedia) Rochester, John Wilmot, 2d earl of, 1647–80, English poet and courtier, b. Ditchley, Oxfordshire. Most notorious and dissolute of the Restoration rakes, he lost the favor of Charles II on several oc...

(Encyclopedia) Scotland Yard, headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police. The term is often used, popularly, to refer to one branch, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Named after a short street in Lon...