Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Plath, Sylvia, 1932–63, American poet, b. Boston. Educated at Smith College and Cambridge, Plath published poems even as a child and won many academic and literary awards. Her first volume of poetry...

(Encyclopedia) Granger movement, American agrarian movement taking its name from the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization founded in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley and six associates. Its local uni...

(Encyclopedia) Burns, Robert, 1759–96, Scottish poet. Burns's art is at its best in songs such as “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton,” “My Heart's in the Highlands,” and “John Anderson My Jo.” Two collections...

(Encyclopedia) limerick, type of humorous verse. It is always short, often nonsensical, and sometimes ribald. Of unknown origin, the limerick is popular rather than literary and has even been used in advertising. Th...

(Encyclopedia) McKenna, Joseph, 1843–1926, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1898–1925), b. Philadelphia. Admitted to the bar in 1865, he practiced law in California and served in the...

(Encyclopedia) Achernar āˈkərnärˌ [key], brightest star in the constellation Eridanus; Bayer designation α Eridani; 1992 position R.A. 1h37.4m, Dec. −57°16′. A bluish-white white star with apparent magnit...

(Encyclopedia) Doolittle, James Harold, 1896–1993, American aviator, b. Alameda, Calif. After serving in World War I as a flier he returned to school and earned a Sc.D. from MIT. He then became noted for his speed...

(Encyclopedia) Boisguilbert, Pierre le Pesant, sieur de pyĕr lə pəzäNˈ syör də bwägēlbĕrˈ [key], 1646–1714, French economist. A local official of Rouen after 1689, he proposed a radical alteration of th...

(Encyclopedia) Census of Marine Life, an international program (2001–2010) to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of living organisms in the oceans. A project involving more than 2,700 sc...

(Encyclopedia) Ciardi, John chēärˈdē [key], 1916–86, American poet, b. Boston, grad. Tufts College, B.A., 1938, Univ. of Michigan, M.A., 1939. His poetry, noted for its wit and perception, includes Homeward to...