Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Rumi, Jalal ad-Din jälälˈ ĕd-dēnˈ ro͞oˈmē [key], 1207–73, great Islamic Persian sage and poet mystic, b. in Balkh. His father, a scholar, was invited by the Seljuk sultan of Rum to settle i...

(Encyclopedia) Seidman, L. William (Lewis William Seidman) sēdˈmən [key], 1921–2009, U.S. government official and accountant, b. Grand Rapids, Mich., grad. Dartmouth (A.B., 1943), Harvard (LL.B., 1948), Univ. o...

(Encyclopedia) Limón, José (José Arcadio Limón) hōsāˈ lĭmōnˈ, lē– [key], 1908–72, American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher known for powerfully masculine dancing and dramatic choreography. H...

(Encyclopedia) lyric, in ancient Greece, a poem accompanied by a musical instrument, usually a lyre. Although the word is still often used to refer to the songlike quality in poetry, it is more generally used to ref...

(Encyclopedia) Kennedy, Anthony McLeod, 1936–, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1988–2018), b. Sacramento, Calif., grad. Stanford (1958), Harvard Law School (1961). For many years (1965–88) he taug...

(Encyclopedia) Oromo gălˈə [key], traditionally pastoral tribes who live in W and S Ethiopia and N Kenya. They number more than 25 million. About half are Muslim, about a third Ethiopian Orthodox, and about a six...

(Encyclopedia) Maori mäˈōrē [key], people of New Zealand and the Cook Islands, believed to have migrated in early times from other islands of Polynesia. Maori tradition asserts that seven canoes brought their an...

(Encyclopedia) Mosley, Sir Oswald Ernald mōzˈlē [key], 1896–1980, British fascist leader. He entered (1918) Parliament as a Conservative, became (1922) an independent, and then joined (1924) the Labour party. H...

(Encyclopedia) Del Tredici, David dĕl trədēˈchē [key], 1937–, American composer, b. Cloverdale, Calif. Originally a pianist, he made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony at 16, and studied composition wi...

(Encyclopedia) Alexie, Sherman (Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr.), 1966–, Native American writer, b. Wellpinit, Spokane Indian Reservation, E Wash., studied Gonzaga Univ. and Washington State Univ. (B.A., 1991). Alexie ...