Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Sarto, Andrea del ändrĕˈä dĕl särˈtō [key], 1486–1531, Florentine painter of the High Renaissance. He painted chiefly religious subjects. In 1509 he was commissioned by the Servites to decor...

(Encyclopedia) Ballard, J. G. (James Graham Ballard) bălˈərd [key], 1930–2009, English writer, mainly of dystopian science fiction. Born to English parents in Shanghai, he was torn from his affluent surrounding...

(Encyclopedia) Erdös, Paul ĕrˈdös [key], 1913–96, Hungarian mathematician, b. Budapest. A child prodigy, he was mostly home-schooled by his parents—both teachers of mathematics—until he entered the Univ. o...

(Encyclopedia) Gbowee, Leymah Roberta lāˈmä, bōwēˈ [key], 1972–, Liberian peace activist. A social worker and trauma counselor, she worked with ex-child soldiers from Charles Taylor's army, joined the Women ...

(Encyclopedia) Lippi lēpˈpē [key], name of two celebrated Italian painters of the 15th cent., Fra Filippo Lippi and his son, Filippino Lippi. Filippino Lippi,Filippino Lippi, c.1457–1504, son of Fra Filippo a...

(Encyclopedia) citizen, member of a state, native or naturalized, who owes allegiance to the government of the state and is entitled to certain rights. Citizens may be said to enjoy the most privileged form of natio...

(Encyclopedia) folk song, music of anonymous composition, transmitted orally. The theory that folk songs were originally group compositions has been modified in recent studies. These assume that the germ of a folk m...

(Encyclopedia) Seneca, the younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) lo͞oˈshəs ənēˈəs sĕnˈəkə [key], c.3 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman, b. Corduba (present-day Córdoba), Spain. He was...

(Encyclopedia) Lorenzetti lōrān-tsĕtˈtē [key], two brothers who were major Sienese painters. Pietro Lorenzetti, c.1280–c.1348, was first influenced by Duccio di Buoninsegna and Giovanni Pisano. His earliest k...

(Encyclopedia) Milken, Michael Robert mĭlˈkən [key], 1946–, American financial executive, b. Van Nuys, Calif. Nicknamed the “junk bond king,” he was an executive at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc., where he tr...