Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) essay, relatively short literary composition in prose, in which a writer discusses a topic, usually restricted in scope, or tries to persuade the reader to accept a particular point of view. Although ...

(Encyclopedia) Dunmore, John Murray, 4th earl of, 1732–1809, British colonial governor of Virginia, a Scottish peer. Appointed governor of New York in 1770, he remained there for about 11 months before being trans...

(Encyclopedia) Charles I, 1288–1342, king of Hungary (1308–42), founder of the Angevin dynasty in Hungary; grandson of Charles II of Naples, who had married a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary. On the death (1301...

(Encyclopedia) Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of ...

(Encyclopedia) Wade, Benjamin Franklin, 1800–1878, U.S. senator from Ohio (1851–69), b. near Springfield, Mass. He moved (1821) to Ohio and studied law. He was successively prosecuting attorney of Ashtabula co.,...

(Encyclopedia) Pusey, Nathan Marsh pyo͞oˈzē [key], 1907–2001, American educator, b. Council Bluffs, Iowa, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1928; M.A., 1932; Ph.D., 1937). A classical scholar, Pusey taught at Lawrence Colle...

(Encyclopedia) Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922–93, American painter, b. Portland, Oreg. Raised in California, he studied at Stanford and at a collector's home encountered (1943) the work of Matisse, whose bold use of co...

(Encyclopedia) cane, walking stick. Probably used first as a weapon, it gradually took on the symbolism of strength and power and eventually authority and social prestige. Ancient Egyptian rulers carried the symboli...

(Encyclopedia) Udall, Stewart Lee yo͞oˈdôl [key], 1920–2010, U.S. cabinet member and environmentalist, b. St. Johns, Ariz. After serving in World War II, Udall practiced law in Tucson until elected to the U.S. ...

(Encyclopedia) Sabbath [Heb.,=repose], in Judaism, last day of the week (Saturday), observed as a rest day for the twenty-five hours commencing with sundown on Friday. In the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1) th...