Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Garner, John Nance, 1868–1967, Vice President of the United States (1933–41), b. Red River co., Tex. A lawyer, he served (1898–1902) in the Texas legislature and then (1902) was elected to Congr...

(Encyclopedia) beat generation, term applied to certain American artists and writers who were popular during the 1950s. Essentially anarchic, members of the beat generation rejected traditional social and artistic f...

(Encyclopedia) Bauer, Harold bouˈər [key], 1873–1951, Anglo-American pianist. He was first a successful violinist, but in 1892 he studied the piano with Paderewski and then earned international recognition as a ...

(Encyclopedia) Ashgabat əshkhəbätˈ [key], formerly Ashkhabad, city (2020 pop. 846,000), capital of Turkmenistan, near the border with Iran, on the Trans-Caspian RR. The city has text...

(Encyclopedia) Pew Charitable Trusts, philanthropic foundation established (1948) by the children of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew (1886–1963) of Philadelphia to provide funds for “general religious, cha...

(Encyclopedia) Deller, Alfred, 1912–79, English countertenor. He began his career as a chorister in his parish church. From 1940–47 he was a lay clerk at Canterbury Cathedral, and in 1947 he was appointed to the...

(Encyclopedia) De Sica, Vittorio vēt-tôrˈyō də sēˈkə [key], 1901–74, Italian film director and actor. His Shoeshine (1946), The Bicycle Thief (1948), and Umberto D. (1952) are classics of postwar Italian n...

(Encyclopedia) Coningham, Sir Arthur kŭnˈĭng-əm [key], 1895–1948, British air marshal, b. Australia. During World War I, he served first in the New Zealand army and then joined (1916) the Royal Flying Corps, a...

(Encyclopedia) Cronin, A. J. (Archibald Joseph Cronin) krōˈnĭn [key], 1896–1981, Scottish novelist. He gave up his prosperous London medical practice to devote himself to writing after the success of his first ...

(Encyclopedia) Whiteman, Paul, 1891–1967, American conductor, b. Denver. Whiteman played viola in the Denver Symphony Orchestra and in 1915 joined the San Francisco Symphony. During World War I he was an army band...