Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

(Encyclopedia) Booker Prize, an award of £50,000 (originally £5,000) for the best novel of the year published in English in Great Britain; prior to 2014, it was only given to a British, Irish, or Commonwealth writ...

(Encyclopedia) Cecrops sēˈkrŏps [key], in Greek mythology, founder and first king of Athens. A primeval being, he was half man and half serpent. As a maker of laws, he abolished human sacrifice, established monog...

(Encyclopedia) Flin Flon flĭn flŏn [key], city, in Saskatchewan, 330), on the Man.-Sask. border, Canada. It ...

(Encyclopedia) Souris so͝orˈĭs [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in S Sask., Canada, and flowing southeast with a great loop into N.Dak. (passing Minot), then N and NE to the Assiniboine River in SW Ma...

(Encyclopedia) Stymphalian birds stĭmfāˈlēən [key], in Greek mythology, dangerous man-eating birds that infested the woods around Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. As his fifth labor, Hercules frightened the birds in...

(Encyclopedia) Lagerkvist, Pär Fabian pâr fäˈbēän läˈgərkvĭst [key], 1891–1974, Swedish poet, dramatist, and novelist. Lagerkvist is considered one of the most significant figures of modern Swedish liter...

(Encyclopedia) Owens, Jesse, 1913–80, U.S. track star, b. Alabama. He was also called John Cleveland Owens, although his original name was said to be simply J. C. Owens. After his family moved to Cleveland he exce...

(Encyclopedia) Drucker, Peter Ferdinand, 1909–2005, American economist, b. Vienna, Austria. After receiving a doctorate in international and public law from Frankfurt Univ. (1931), Drucker was a financial writer f...

(Encyclopedia)  Dukakis, Olympia, 1931-2021, American actress, b. Lowell, Ma., Boston Univ. (B.A., M.F.A.). Dukakis’s parents were Greek immigrants. After ...