Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) fantasia făntāˈzhə [key] [Ital.,=fancy], musical composition not restricted to a formal design, but constructed freely in the manner of an improvisation. In the 16th and 17th cent., however, the t...

(Encyclopedia) American International Group (AIG), American multinational insurance corporation whose potential bankruptcy in 2008 led to the largest federal bailout of a private company. AIG was founded as American...

(Encyclopedia) Clurman, Harold klo͝orˈmən [key], 1901–80, American director, manager, critic, and author, b. New York City. In his early years he acted in minor roles, becoming associated with New York's Group ...

(Encyclopedia) Gilbert de la Porrée zhēlbĕrˈ də lä pôrāˈ [key], 1076–1154, French scholastic philosopher, b. Poitiers. He taught for 20 years at Chartres, where he was for some time chancellor. He later l...

(Encyclopedia) Leyner, Mark, 1956–, American writer, b. Jersey City, N.J. His hyperliterate postmodernist short stories, collected in I Smell Esther Williams (1983), My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist (1990), and To...

(Encyclopedia) Miller, Perry, 1905–63, U.S. historian, b. Chicago. He received his Ph.D. from the Univ. of Chicago in 1931 and taught at Harvard from 1931 until his death. A towering figure in the field of America...

(Encyclopedia) Eaton, Amos ēˈtən [key], 1776–1842, American naturalist, b. Chatham, N.Y., grad. Williams College, 1799. After practicing law for a time, he conducted pioneer geological surveys in Albany and Ren...

(Encyclopedia) Terfel, Bryn, 1965–, Welsh bass-baritone, b. Pant Glas as Bryn Terfel Jones. One of the most acclaimed singers of his era, he has a voice of rare warmth, richness, and power. His rise to public prom...

(Encyclopedia) Narragansett nărˌəgănˈsət [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Part of the E...

(Encyclopedia) Armstrong, Samuel Chapman, 1839–93, American educator, philanthropist, and soldier, b. Hawaiian Islands, of missionary parents, grad. Williams, 1862. He served in the Union army in the Civil War, ri...