Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Hammerstein, Oscar hămˈərstīn [key], 1846–1919, German-American operatic impresario. In 1888 he built the Harlem Opera House, and in 1906 the Manhattan Opera House, where he gave noteworthy prod...

(Encyclopedia) Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the purpose of obtaining information about enemy nations and ...

(Encyclopedia) Andrade, Carlos Drummond de əndrädˈ [key], 1902–87, Brazilian poet. The son of landowners, he worked as a journalist before earning (1925) a degree in pharmacology. In 1928 Andrade became a civil...

(Encyclopedia) amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. Amusement...

(Encyclopedia) duPont, Margaret Osborne, 1918–2012, American tennis player, b. Joseph, Oreg. Known for her aggressive play and endurance, she was one of the finest female players in the mid-20th cent. Ranked numbe...

(Encyclopedia) Crawford, Thomas, 1813–57, American sculptor, b. New York City. He was apprenticed to a wood carver and later worked for a firm of tombstone cutters. He achieved his first success with decorations f...

(Encyclopedia) Rauch, Christian Daniel krĭsˈtyän däˈnyĕl roukh [key], 1777–1857, German sculptor. After studying in Rome (1804–11 and again later), where his work was influenced by Thorvaldsen, he achieved...

(Encyclopedia) Donovan, William Joseph dŏnˈəvən [key], 1883–1959, U.S. lawyer and government official, b. Buffalo, N.Y., grad. Columbia law school. Distinguished service in World War I won him medals and the n...

(Encyclopedia) Burbank, Luther bûrˈbănk [key], 1849–1926, American plant breeder, b. Lancaster, Mass. He experimented with thousands of plant varieties and developed many new ones, including new varieties of pr...

(Encyclopedia) Régnier, Henri de äNrēˈ də rānyāˈ [key], 1864–1936, French poet, one of the young symbolists of the circle of Mallarmé. His early Poèmes anciens et romanesques (1891) showed skill in free ...