Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bale, John, 1495–1563, English dramatist and clergyman. An ardent proponent of the Reformation, he used the stage as a vehicle for his views. His most famous play, King John (written c.1535), shows ...

(Encyclopedia) Berners, John Bourchier, 2d Baron bouˈchər, bûrˈnərz [key], 1467–1533, English diplomat and man of letters. A member of Parliament from 1495 to 1529, he later became chancellor of the exchequer...

(Encyclopedia) Portage la Prairie pôrˌtĭj lə prârˈē [key], city (1991 pop. 13,186), S Man., Canada. It is the center of a mixed-farming region and has diversified industries. The city is near the site of Fort...

(Encyclopedia) Becker, Boris, 1967–, German tennis player, b. Leimen, West Germany (now Germany). Noted for his powerful, often acrobatic serve-and-volley game, he gained notice in 1985 when, at 17, he became the ...

(Encyclopedia) Gibson, Josh (Joshua Gibson) 1911–47, American baseball player, b. Buena Vista, Ga. A catcher and the long-time batterymate of Satchel Paige, Gibson was called “the Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues....

(Encyclopedia) Giottino jōt-tēˈnō [key], early Florentine painter of the school of Giotto. He is supposed to have lived in the first half of the 14th cent. and has been variously identified as Giotto di Stefano,...

(Encyclopedia) Goldie, Sir George (George Goldie Taubman), 1846–1925, British colonial administrator, b. Isle of Man. Goldie entered the Niger River trade in the 1870s, and his company soon dominated trade on the ...

(Encyclopedia) Galt, John, 1779–1839, Scottish novelist. He went to Canada as secretary for the Canada Company, founding there in 1827 the town of Guelph and encouraging Canadian immigration. He wrote poems, blank...

(Encyclopedia) Gamelyn, The Tale of gămˈəlĭn [key], a romance in verse, written c.1350, containing about 900 lines. It tells of the tribulations of a young man abused by his older brothers. The tale survives in ...

(Encyclopedia) Muybridge, Eadweard ĕdˈwərd mīˈbrĭj [key], 1830–1904, English-born photographer and student of animal locomotion. Muybridge changed his name from Edward James Muggeridge. A gifted and obsessed...