Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

(Encyclopedia) du Plessix Gray, Francine, 1930–2019, French-American writer, b. Warsaw, studied Bryn Mawr, Black Mountain College, B.A. Barnard, 1952. She worked first as a writer and editor for radio and magazine...

(Encyclopedia) Ambrosian Library, Milan, Italy; founded c.1605 by Cardinal Federigo Borromeo. Named for Milan's patron saint, it was one of the first libraries to be open to the public. Its earliest collection was a...

(Encyclopedia) Montand, Yves ēv môNtäNˈ [key], 1921–1991, French singer and actor, b. Italy as Ivo Livi. His family settled in Marseille when he was an infant. He quit school at 11, held various manual-labor j...

(Encyclopedia) von Furstenberg, Diane, 1946–, Belgian-American fashion designer, b. Brussels as Diane Simone Michelle Halfin. She began designing before moving to New York in 1969, and created simple, functional c...

(Encyclopedia) De Pere dĭ pēr [key], city (2020 pop. 25,410), Brown co., E central Wis., on the Fox River;...

(Encyclopedia) De-shima dāˈ-jĭmä [key], artificial island, c.40 acres (16 hectares), Nagasaki prefecture, W Kyushu, Japan, in Nagasaki harbor. It has many docks and is connected by bridge to the city of Nagasaki...

(Encyclopedia) Éboli, Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda, princesa de äˈnä ᵺā māndōˈthä ᵺā lä thārˈdä prēnthāˈsä ᵺā āˈbōlē [key], 1540–92, Spanish noblewoman. After the death (1573) of her hus...

(Encyclopedia) Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise de mädəlĕnˈ də so͞ovrāˈ, märkēzˈ də säblāˈ [key], 1599–1678, French woman of letters. Her salon was in vogue after the decline of the salon at t...

(Encyclopedia) Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de kätrēnˈ də vēvônˈ märkēzˈ də räNbo͞oyāˈ [key], 1588–1665, famous Frenchwoman, whose salon exercised a profound influence on French liter...