Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Amyot or Amiot, Joseph ämyōˈ [key], 1718–1794?, French Roman Catholic missionary in China, a Jesuit. He wrote a long treatise on the history, sciences, and customs of the Chinese (15 vol., 1776�...

(Encyclopedia) Ayckbourn, Sir Alan ākˈbôrn [key], 1939–, English playwright and director, b. London. One of Britain's most successful and prolific dramatists, he had his first play produced in 1959 and since th...

(Encyclopedia) Beerbohm, Sir Max bērˈbōm [key], 1872–1956, English essayist, caricaturist, and parodist. He contributed to the famous Yellow Book while still an undergraduate at Oxford. In 1898 he succeeded G. ...

(Encyclopedia) Needham, Joseph nēdˈəm [key], 1900–1995, British biochemist, historian of science, and sinologist, b. London. He had a lifelong association with Cambridge, where he was educated (Ph.D. 1924), tau...

(Encyclopedia) Cartier, Sir Georges Étienne zhôrzh ātyĕnˈ kärtyāˈ [key], 1814–73, Canadian statesman, b. Quebec prov. He was called to the bar of Lower Canada (Quebec) in 1835. He took part in the rebellio...

(Encyclopedia) Cornell, Joseph, American artist, 1903–72, b. Nyack, N.Y. Cornell is best known for his surrealist-flavored shadow boxes. These are relatively small constructions, within glass-fronted shallow boxes...

(Encyclopedia) Joubert, Joseph zhôzĕfˈ zho͞obĕrˈ [key], 1754–1824, French moralist. His Pensées (of which there are many English translations) rank with those of La Rochefoucauld in their finished style but...

(Encyclopedia) Joseph, Father (François Leclerc du Tremblay), 1577–1638, French Capuchin monk, a confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu, generally known as the Éminence Grise [gray eminence]. Combining the el...

(Encyclopedia) Brodsky, Joseph (Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky) brätˈskē, brädˈ–, Rus. yôsˈyĭf əlyĭksänˈdrəvyĭch brôtˈskē [key], 1940–96, Russian-American poet, b. Leningrad (St. Petersburg). A di...

(Encyclopedia) Papp, Joseph, 1921–91, American theatrical director and producer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. as Joseph Papirofsky. Papp, a major influence in American theater, founded the nonprofit New York Shakespeare Fest...