Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Minkowski, Hermann hĕrˈmän mĭnkôfˈskē [key], 1864–1909, Russian mathematician. He was educated in Germany and was professor at the Univ. of Königsberg (1894–96), the Federal Institute of T...

(Encyclopedia) La Hire lä ēr [key], c.1390–c.1443, French commander in the Hundred Years War, whose real name was Étienne de Vignoles or Vignolles. He entered (1418) the service of the dauphin (later King Charl...

(Encyclopedia) McCracken, Paul Winston, 1915–2012, American economist; b. Richland, Iowa. He taught at the Univ. of Michigan's school of business administration from 1948, except for time in government service. A ...

(Encyclopedia) Hitchcock, Thomas, Jr., 1900–1944, American polo player and aviator, b. Aiken, S.C. The son of avid polo players, Tommy Hitchcock played in his first tournament at the age of 13. Hitchcock's polo pl...

(Encyclopedia) Arboleda, Julio ho͞oˈlyō ärbōlāˈᵺä [key], 1817–61, Colombian poet and politician. A powerful political force, he was for a time imprisoned and then exiled. He returned to lead a revolt (18...

(Encyclopedia) Ogier the Dane ōˈjēər, ōzhyāˈ [key], in the chansons de geste, a paladin of Charlemagne. Although his military feats save emperor and kingdom, he is for a time at odds with Charlemagne. In some...

(Encyclopedia) Paisiello, Giovanni jōvänˈnē päēzyĕlˈlō [key], 1740–1816, Italian composer. Paisiello served in St. Petersburg at the court of Catherine II from 1776 to 1784. He was also briefly Napoleon's...

(Encyclopedia) Méhul, Étienne Nicolas ātyĕnˈ nēkôläˈ māülˈ [key], 1763–1817, French operatic composer of outstanding importance during the Revolutionary period. Méhul's masterpiece was the biblical op...

(Encyclopedia) pentimento pĕnˌtəmĕnˈtō [key], painter's term for the evidence in a work that the original composition has been changed. Often the opaque pigment with which the artist covered a mistake or unwan...

(Encyclopedia) acquired characteristics, modifications produced in an individual plant or animal as a result of mutilation, disease, use and disuse, or any distinctly environmental influence. Some examples are docki...