Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) conceit, in literature, fanciful or unusual image in which apparently dissimilar things are shown to have a relationship. The Elizabethan poets were fond of Petrarchan conceits, which were conventiona...

(Encyclopedia) Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849–1916, American poet, b. Greenfield, Ind., known as the Hoosier poet. He was at various times a traveling actor, a sign painter, and a newspaperman. Under the name “Benj...

(Encyclopedia) Green, Paul, 1894–1981, American dramatist, b. Lillington, N.C., grad. Univ. of North Carolina, 1921. He is known for his realistic plays depicting the lives of blacks and white tenant farmers. His ...

(Encyclopedia) ovum ōˈvəm [key], in biology, specialized plant or animal sex cell, also called the egg, or egg cell. It is the female sex cell, or female gamete; the male gamete is the sperm. The study of the ovu...

(Encyclopedia) Lerner, Alan Jay, 1918–86, American lyricist and librettist, b. New York City. After two years as a radio scriptwriter, Lerner began an association with the composer Frederick Loewe that resulted in...

(Encyclopedia) Mieris mēˈrĭs [key], family of Dutch genre and portrait painters of Leiden. Frans van Mieris, 1635–81, the most important, was the son of a goldsmith and pupil of Gerard Dou. His tiny, meticulous...

(Encyclopedia) Montefiore, Sir Moses Haim mŏnˌtĭfēôˈrē [key], 1784–1885, British-Jewish philanthropist, b. Italy. He married a Rothschild and became affiliated with the family's banking business. He accumul...

(Encyclopedia) Huggins, Sir William, 1824–1910, English astronomer. Using a spectroscope, he began to study the chemical constitution of stars from the observatory attached to his home in Tulse Hill, London. He pr...

(Encyclopedia) Croly, Jane Cunningham krōˈlē [key], pseud. Jennie June, 1829–1901, American journalist and feminist, b. England. She came to the United States at the age of 12 and in 1857 married author and edi...

(Encyclopedia) Harland, Henry, 1861–1905, American novelist, b. St. Petersburg, Russia, studied at Harvard. He traveled extensively in Europe during his childhood. His first novels were written under the pseudonym...