Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Wilder, Laura Elizabeth Ingalls, 1867–1957, American author of the classic Little House series of children's books, b. Pepin, Wis. She and her pioneer family traveled (1869–79) throughout the Midw...

(Encyclopedia) allergy, hypersensitive reaction of the body tissues of certain individuals to certain substances that, in similar amounts and circumstances, are innocuous to other persons. Allergens, or allergy-caus...

(Encyclopedia) Carey, Peter, 1943–, Australian novelist, b. near Melbourne. Carey's combination of science fiction and fantasy motifs with a realistic style, displayed in the short stories in The Fat Man in Histor...

(Encyclopedia) New England Primer, famous American school book, first published before 1690. Its compiler was Benjamin Harris, an English printer who emigrated to Boston. This was the book from which most of the chi...

(Encyclopedia) Zangwill, Israel, 1864–1926, English author, b. London. He became a journalist and founded Ariel, a humorous paper. Zangwill wrote Children of the Ghetto (1892), later dramatized and performed in En...

(Encyclopedia) Willem-Alexander, 1967–, king of the Netherlands, eldest son of Queen Beatrix. He served (1985–87) in the navy and graduated (1993)from Leiden Univ.; he has been a member of the International Olym...

(Encyclopedia) aspirin, acetyl derivative of salicylic acid (see salicylate) that is used to lower fever, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and thin the blood. Common conditions treated with aspirin include headach...

(Encyclopedia) Frame, Janet (Janet Paterson Frame Clutha) klo͞oˈthə [key], 1924–2004, New Zealand novelist, b. Dunedin. Frame's complex, disturbing novels are marked by startling images and masterful language. ...

(Encyclopedia) Lispector, Clarice klârˈĭs lēspĕkˈtər [key], 1920–77, Brazilian author, b. i...

(Encyclopedia) Margaret, 1930–2002, British princess, second daughter of King George VI and sister of Queen Elizabeth II, b. Glamis, Scotland. In 1960 she married a commoner, the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jone...