Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Banks, Russell, 1940–, American writer, b. Newton, Mass., grad. Univ. of North Carolina (1967). Banks is known for fiction that explores the bleaker aspects of American working-class life with empat...

(Encyclopedia) Scotland, Free Church of, the secessionist Presbyterian church established as a result of the great disruption of 1843 in the Church of Scotland. The cause of the separation lay in the demand of the l...

(Encyclopedia) Thompson, Francis, 1859–1907, English poet. His poetry, usually on religious subjects, is noted for its brilliant imagery and sonorous language. He was educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood at ...

(Encyclopedia) environmental impact statement, analysis of the impact that a proposed development, usually industrial, will have on the natural and social environment. It includes assessment of long- and short-term ...

(Encyclopedia) Greene and Greene, architectural firm working in the American arts and crafts style, formed by the brothers Charles Sumner Greene, 1868–1957, and Henry Mather Greene, 1870–1954, both b. Brighton (...

(Encyclopedia) Lowry, Malcolm (Clarence Malcolm Lowry) louˈrē [key], 1909–57, English novelist, b. New Brighton, Wirral. Lowry is widely recognized as an important writer who effectively articulated the spiritua...

(Encyclopedia) Mindszenty, József mĭndˈsĕntē [key], 1892–1975, Hungarian prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was bishop of Veszprém during the German occupation of Hungary in World War II. His...

(Encyclopedia) Astaire, Fred əstârˈ [key], 1899–1987, American dancer, actor, and singer, b. Omaha, Nebr., as Frederick Austerlitz. After 1911 he and his sister Adele (1896–1981), b. Adele Marie Austerlitz, f...

(Encyclopedia) DiMaggio, Joe (Joseph Paul DiMaggio) dĭmăjˈēōˌ, –mäjˈēōˌ [key], 1914–99, American baseball player, b. Martinez, Calif. One of the most charismatic of 20th-century sports figures, “Jol...

(Encyclopedia) aesthetics ĕsthĕtˈĭks [key], the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of art and the criteria of artistic judgment. The classical conception of art as the imitation of nature was...