Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Slatkin, Leonard slătˈkĭn [key], 1944–, American conductor, b. Los Angeles. Slatkin is known for his interpretations of 20th-century American music as well as of the standard classical repertory....

(Encyclopedia) Wright, Willard Huntington, pseud. S. S. Van Dine, 1888–1939, American art critic and mystery story writer, b. Charlottesville, Va. He attended college in California and later studied art in Paris a...

(Encyclopedia) Gwynn, Tony (Anthony Keith Gwynn), 1960–2014, American baseball player and coach, b. Los Angeles. He played baseball and basketball at San Diego State Univ., and had a record 590 career assists as a...

(Encyclopedia) Day of the Dead, Span. Día de los Muertos, annual festival in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, commonly on November 1st and 2d. Its ancient Mesoamerican roots now augmented by Christian custo...

(Encyclopedia) León, Luis Ponce de lo͞oēsˈ pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], 1527?–1591, Spanish mystic and poet, an Augustinian monk. Fray Luis held various theological chairs at the Univ. of Salamanca. A noted ...

(Encyclopedia) Libby, Willard Frank, 1908–80, American chemist, b. Grand Valley, Colo., grad. Univ. of California (B.S., 1931; Ph.D., 1933). He taught (1933–45) at the Univ. of California and was a chemist (1941...

(Encyclopedia) Miki, Takeo, 1907–88, Japanese politician, prime minister of Japan (1974–76). He attended Meiji Univ. and the Univ. of California, Los Angeles, and was first elected to the Diet in 1937. An advoca...

(Encyclopedia) Murrieta or Murieta, Joaquín hwäkēnˈ mo͞oryāˈtä [key], 1829?–1853, California bandit, b. Mexico. From 1849 to 1851 he mined in the California gold fields. After he and members of his family ...

(Encyclopedia) Asawa, Brian Laurence äsäˈwä [key], 1966–2016, American countertenor, b. Fullerton, Calif., B.A., Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles. Known for the the clear, silvery fluidity of his voice and his ele...

(Encyclopedia) Antequera y Castro, José de hōsāˈ dā äntākāˈrä ē käˈstrō [key], 1690–1731, Peruvian lawyer, leader of a revolt in Paraguay. A prosecutor of the audiencia of Charcas, he was sent to Asu...