Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Devrient, Ludwig lo͝otˈvĭkh dəvrēăNˈ [key], 1784–1832, German actor. He abandoned a commercial career in 1804 to join a traveling theatrical company. In Berlin he was a favorite in comedy and...

(Encyclopedia) toy, article designed to be played with, chiefly for children. Archaeological research has revealed numerous playthings from prehistoric civilizations. Early Egyptian, Greek, and Roman dolls, tops, ba...

(Encyclopedia) Norwegian literature, early flourished as Old Norse literature. In 1380, Norway was united with Denmark, and Danish culture began a long dominance in Norway; Norwegian culture sank to its nadir in the...

(Encyclopedia) perestroika pərˈĕstroyˈkə [key], Soviet economic and social policy of the late 1980s. Perestroika [restructuring] was the term attached to the attempts (1985–91) by Mikhail Gorbachev to transfo...

(Encyclopedia) Bustamante, Sir Alexander bŭsˌtəmănˈtē [key], 1884–1977, prime minister of Jamaica (1962–67). Born William Alexander Clarke, the son of an Irish father and a Jamaican mother, he was adopted...

(Encyclopedia) Voronin, Vladimir vlädēˈmēr vōrōnˈyĭn [key], 1941–, Moldovan political leader. Voronin rose through the ranks of the Communist party in what was then the USSR's Moldavian SSR to become the r...

(Encyclopedia) Abrams, Stacey Yvonne, 1973-, American politician and author, b. Gulfport, Ms., Spelman College (B.A., 1995); Univ. of Texas (Masters of Public Affairs, 1998), Yale Law School (J.D., 1999)...

(Encyclopedia) Kenosha kĭnōˈshə [key], industrial city (2020 pop. 99,986), seat of Kenosha co., SE Wis., a ...

(Encyclopedia) Marc, Franz fränts märk [key], 1880–1916, German painter. Influenced by August Macke, he developed a rich, chromatic symbolism. He depicted a mystical world of animals, especially horses, employin...

(Encyclopedia) Sagittarius săjĭtârˈēəs [key] [Lat.,=the archer], constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Scorpius and Capricornus; it is one of the constellati...