Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Genovese, Eugene Dominick, 1930–2012, American historian, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Brooklyn College (B.A., 1953), Columbia (M.A., 1955; Ph.D., 1959). Known for his penetrating studies of slavery and...

(Encyclopedia) Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck, 1836–1911, English playwright and poet. He won fame as the librettist of numerous popular operettas, written in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Wh...

(Encyclopedia) free verse, term loosely used for rhymed or unrhymed verse made free of conventional and traditional limitations and restrictions in regard to metrical structure. Cadence, especially that of common sp...

(Encyclopedia) Fuentes, Carlos kärˈlōs fwānˈtās [key], 1928–2012, Mexican writer, editor, and diplomat. He was head of the department of cultural relations in Mexico's ministry of foreign affairs (1956–59)...

(Encyclopedia) Lothair II, also called Lothair III, 1075–1137, Holy Roman emperor (1133–37) and German king (1125–37); successor of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. His predecessor invested him with the duchy of Sa...

(Encyclopedia) Leakey, Richard Erskine Frere frĭr [key], 1944–2022, Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist, and ...

(Encyclopedia) Salem. 1 City (1990 pop. 38,091), seat of Essex co., NE Mass., on an inlet of Massachusetts Bay; inc. 1629. Its once famous harbor has silted up. Salem has electronic, leather, and machinery industrie...

(Encyclopedia) eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. Th...

(Encyclopedia) de Gaulle, Charles shärl də gōl [key], 1890–1970, French general and statesman, first president (1959–69) of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle was reelected to a second seven-year term in 1965. A...

(Encyclopedia) Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson, who was its director and financial backer until 1918. The orchestra performed at the Old Boston Music Hall for nearly 20 years until ...