Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ki no Tsurayuki kē nō tso͞oˈräˈyo͞oˈkē [key], c.872–945, early Japanese diarist, literary theorist, and poet. Renowned for his erudition and skill in Chinese and Japanese poetry, Tsurayuki ...

(Encyclopedia) lead poisoning or plumbism plŭmˈbĭzˌəm [key], intoxication of the system by organic compounds containing lead. These enter the body by respiration (of dust, fumes, or sprays) or by ingestion of f...

(Encyclopedia) Kushner, Tony ko͝oshˈnər [key], 1956–, American playwright, b. New York City. He was a little-known off-Broadway playwright with several interesting works, e.g., Yes, Yes, No, No (1985) and A Bri...

(Encyclopedia) Buddhist literature. During his lifetime the Buddha taught not in Vedic Sanskrit, which had become unintelligible to the people, but in his own NE Indian dialect; he also encouraged his monks to propa...

(Encyclopedia) Alfonso VIII (Alfonso the Noble), 1155–1214, Spanish king of Castile (1158–1214), son and successor of Sancho III. Chaos prevailed during his minority, but he quickly restored order after assuming...

(Encyclopedia) Lessing, Doris, 1919–2013, British novelist, b. Kermanshah, Persia (now Iran) as Doris May Tayler. Largely self-educated, she was brought up on a farm in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and in 194...

(Encyclopedia) Natchez năchˈĭz [key], indigenous North American people who lived along St. Catherine's Creek east of the present-day city of Natchez in Mississippi. At the time of contact with the French in 1682,...

(Encyclopedia) Windsor wĭnˈzər [key], name of the royal house of Great Britain. The name Wettin, family name of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, as well as Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the name of th...

(Encyclopedia) Badger, Joseph, 1708–65, American painter, b. Charlestown, Mass. By trade a glazier and house and sign painter, he turned his hand to portraiture. Generally uninspired, his work appears at its best ...

(Encyclopedia) Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of, 1801–85, English social reformer. He was known as Lord Ashley until 1851, when he succeeded his father as earl. Entering the House of Commons in 1826...