Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de pyĕr ōgüstăNˈ karôNˈ də bōmärshāˈ [key], 1732–99, French dramatist. Originally a watchmaker, he rose to wealth and position among the nobility. His...

(Encyclopedia) Monroe, Paul, 1869–1947, American educator, b. North Madison, Ind., grad. Franklin College, 1890, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1897. At Teachers College, Columbia, he was professor of education from 1902...

(Encyclopedia) Bunyan, Paul, legendary American lumberjack. He was the hero of a series of “tall tales” popular through the timber country from Michigan westward. Bunyan was known for his fantastic strength and ...

(Encyclopedia) Hindemith, Paul hĭnˈdəmĭth [key], 1895–1963, German-American composer and violist, b. Hanau, Germany. Hindemith combined experimental and traditional techniques into a distinctively modern style...

(Encyclopedia) Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de pyĕrˈ kärlāˈ də shäNblēˈ də märēvōˈ [key], 1688–1763, French dramatist and novelist. He enjoyed popularity for a time with his numerous comedies...

(Encyclopedia) Tallien, Jean Lambert zhäN läNbĕrˈ tälyăNˈ [key], 1767–1820, French revolutionary. A law clerk and later a printer, he became known through his Jacobin journal, Ami des citoyens. A leader in ...

(Encyclopedia) Rameau, Jean Philippe zhäN fēlēpˈ rämōˈ [key], 1683–1764, French composer and theorist. He was organist at the cathedral in Clermont and at Notre Dame de Dijon. In the early part of his caree...

(Encyclopedia) Greuze, Jean-Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ gröz [key], 1725–1805, French genre and portrait painter. He studied at the Académie Royale and won recognition in 1755 with his Blind Man Deceived. He trave...

(Encyclopedia) Drude, Paul Karl Ludwig poul kärl lo͝otˈvĭkh dro͞oˈdə [key], 1863–1906, German physicist. Drude first experimented with the physical determinants of optical constants, measuring the optical c...

(Encyclopedia) Wigner, Eugene Paul wĭgˈnər [key], 1902–95, American physicist, b. Hungary, grad. Technische Hochschule, Berlin, 1925. He was a professor at Princeton from 1930 to 1936 and again from 1938 to 197...