Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Perseus pûrˈsēəs, –so͝os [key], in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Danaë. His grandfather, Acrisius, had been warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him and therefore put Perseus an...

(Encyclopedia) Dana, Charles Anderson dāˈnə [key], 1819–97, American newspaper editor, b. Hinsdale, N.H. He was a member of the Brook Farm community for five years. In 1847 he began 15 years on the New York Tri...

(Encyclopedia) Brancusi, Constantin bränkyo͞oˈzē, Rom. bränˈko͞osh [key], 1876–1957, Romanian sculptor. Brancusi is considered one of the foremost of modern artists. In 1904 he went to Paris, where he worke...

(Encyclopedia) Cabral de Melo Neto, João dĭ māˈlü nāˈtü [key], 1920–99, Brazilian poet and dramatist. Raised on his family's sugarcane plantation, he entered the foreign service in 1945 and retired in 1990...

(Encyclopedia) Cagliostro, Alessandro, Conte di älĕs-sänˈdrō kōnˈtā dē kälyōˈstrō [key], 1743–95, Italian adventurer, magician, and alchemist, whose real name was Giuseppe Balsamo. After early misadve...

(Encyclopedia) alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...

(Encyclopedia) Hubballi-Dharwad, formerly Hubli-Dharwad ho͝oˈblē-därˈvär [key], city, Karnataka (forme...

(Encyclopedia) fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...

(Encyclopedia) jaundice jônˈdĭs, jänˈ– [key], abnormal condition in which the body fluids and tissues, particularly the skin and eyes, take on a yellowish color as a result of an excess of bilirubin. During t...

(Encyclopedia) Wood, Grant, 1891–1942, American painter, b. Anamosa, Iowa, studied Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. He experimented with an impressionist style in Paris, but in Munich in 1928 he was decisive...