Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) tarots târˈōz [key], playing cards that are used mainly for fortunetelling, sometimes called “the book of divination of the Gypsies.” It is generally believed that the cards were introduced int...

(Encyclopedia) Friedlander, Lee frēdˈlăndər [key], 1934–, American photographer, b. Aberdeen, Wash. Influenced by Walker Evans and Robert Frank, Friedlander is known for dense and often visually witty black-an...

(Encyclopedia) Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

(Encyclopedia) filibuster, term used to designate obstructionist tactics in legislative assemblies. It has particular reference to the U.S. Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is very strong. It was not ...

(Encyclopedia) echidna ĭkĭdˈnə [key] or spiny anteater, animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect its...

(Encyclopedia) Coles, Robert, 1929–, American child psychiatrist, b. Boston, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1950), Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (M.D., 1954). He began working with children while in the air fo...

(Encyclopedia) Thomson, James, 1834–82, Scottish poet and essayist. He is remembered for his darkly pessimistic poem The City of Dreadful Night. He was raised in an orphan asylum and became (1851) an army teacher ...

(Encyclopedia) Eggleston, William (William Joseph Eggleston, Jr.), 1939–, American photographer credited with establishing color photography as an art form, b. Memphis Tenn. His early work in black and white was i...

(Encyclopedia) Kazin, Alfred kāˈzĭn [key], 1915–98, American critic, b. New York City, grad. College of the City of New York (B.S., 1935) and Columbia (M.A., 1938). Kazin was one of the outstanding literary cri...

(Encyclopedia) Wolf, Hugo vôlf [key], 1860–1903, Austrian composer; studied at the Vienna Conservatory. From 1883 to 1887 he wrote musical criticism for the Vienna Salonblatt. As a composer he first gained atten...