Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Houdon, Jean-Antoine zhäN-äNtwänˈ o͞odôNˈ [key], 1741–1828, French neoclassical sculptor. He studied with Michel Ange Slodtz, Lemoyne, and Pigalle, took the Prix de Rome at the age of 20, and...

(Encyclopedia) Katyn kətĭnˈ [key], village, W central European Russia, 12 mi (19 km) W of Smolensk. During World War II, when it was part of the USSR, it was occupied by the Germans in Aug., 1941. In 1943 the Ger...

(Encyclopedia) Titus, letter of the New Testament. With First and Second Timothy, it comprises the Pastoral Epistles, purportedly written by St. Paul. Titus resembles First Timothy in detail; it consists of points r...

(Encyclopedia) Porta, Guglielmo della dĕlˈlä pôrˈtä [key], d. 1577, Italian sculptor. His early works are in Genoa. In 1546 he went to Rome, where he was employed by Pope Paul III in restoring certain antique...

(Encyclopedia) Borghese bōrgāˈzā [key], Roman noble family, originally of Siena. It produced one pope, Paul V, several cardinals, and many prominent citizens. The Borghese were noted patrons of arts and letters....

(Encyclopedia) Donne, John dŭn, dŏn [key], 1572–1631, English poet and divine. He is considered the greatest of the metaphysical poets. All of Donne's verse—his love sonnets and his religious and philosophic...

(Encyclopedia) O'Keeffe, Georgia ōkēfˈ [key], 1887–1986, American painter, b. Sun Prairie, Wis. After working briefly as a commercial artist in Chicago, O'Keeffe abandoned painting until she began the study of ...

(Encyclopedia) Josephine, 1763–1814, empress of the French (1804–9) as the consort of Napoleon I. Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in Martinique, she was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais...

(Encyclopedia) Bering, Vitus Jonassen vēˈto͝os yōˈnäsən bārˈĭng [key], 1681–1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men...

(Encyclopedia) Esterházy ĕsˈtĕrhäˌzē [key], princely Hungarian family. Paul, Fürst Esterházy von Galantha, 1635–1713, was elected palatine (regent) of Hungary in 1681 and distinguished himself in the defe...