Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Simmel, Georg gāˈôrk zĭmˈəl [key], 1858–1918, German philosopher and sociologist. At the universities of Berlin and Strasbourg he was an influential lecturer. Basing his social philosophy on a...

(Encyclopedia) Shannon, Wilson, 1802–77. American political leader, Mount Olivet, Ohio. A lawyer, he entered politics and was governor of Ohio (1838–40, 1842–44), minister to Mexico (1844–45), and a member o...

(Encyclopedia) Etherege, Sir George ĕthˈərĭj [key], 1636–1692, English dramatist. His witty, licentious comedies—The Comical Revenge; or, Love in a Tub (1664) and She Wou'd If She Cou'd (1668)—set the tone...

(Encyclopedia) Oldfield, Anne, 1683–1730, English actress. The successor of Mrs. Bracegirdle, she first won acclaim in 1704 for her brilliant portrayal of Lady Modish in Colley Cibber's Careless Husband. She had a...

(Encyclopedia) Bracegirdle, Anne, 1663?–1748, English actress. A pupil of Betterton, she was the delight of Colley Cibber and the favorite of Congreve, achieving her greatest successes as the heroines of Congreve'...

(Encyclopedia) Morrison, Toni, 1931–2019, American writer, b. Lorain, Ohio, as Chloe Ardelia (later Anthony) Wofford; B.A. Howard Univ., 1953, M.F.A. Cornell, 1955. Her fiction is noted for its poetic language, lu...

(Encyclopedia) Great Depression, in U.S. history, the severe economic crisis generally considered to have been precipitated by the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929. Although it shared the basic characteristics of oth...

(Encyclopedia) Outer Barrier, series of sandy barrier islands or offshore bars, extending c.75 mi (120 km) along the south shore of Long Island, SE N.Y., from Rockaway Beach at the west to the east end of Shinnecock...

(Encyclopedia) Lu Xun or Lu Hsün both: lo͞oˈshünˈ [key], 1881–1936, Chinese writer, pen name of Chou Shu-jen. In 1902, he traveled to Japan on a government scholarship, eventually enrolling at Sendai Medical ...

(Encyclopedia) Herbert, George, 1593–1633, one of the English metaphysical poets. Of noble family, he was the brother of Baron Herbert of Cherbury. He was graduated from Cambridge. His early determination to enter...