Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Defense, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Defense, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to nationa...

Maynard, George Willoughby

(Encyclopedia)Maynard, George Willoughby, 1843–1923, American figure, marine, and mural painter, b. Washington, D.C., studied at the National Academy of Design and in Florence and Antwerp. Maynard created decorat...

Rich, Barnabe

(Encyclopedia)Rich, Barnabe, 1540–1620, English author and soldier. He wrote several collections of prose fiction based on Italian novellas, including The Strange and the Wonderful Adventures of Don Simonides (15...

Darrow, Clarence Seward

(Encyclopedia)Darrow, Clarence Seward, 1857–1938, American lawyer, b. Kinsman, Ohio. He first practiced law in Ashtabula, Ohio. In 1887 he moved to Chicago, where he was corporation counsel for several years and ...

Stevenson, Robert Louis

(Encyclopedia)Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850–94, Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist, b. Edinburgh. Handicapped from youth by delicate health, he struggled all his life against tuberculosis. He studied law and w...

Shubert Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Shubert Brothers sho͞oˈbərt [key], theatrical managers and producers. The brothers were Lee (1871–1953), Sam S. (1878–1905), and Jacob J. (1880–1963). Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., they beg...

Teasdale, Sara

(Encyclopedia)Teasdale, Sara tēzˈdāl [key], 1884–1933, American poet, b. St. Louis. She wrote several volumes of delicate and highly personal lyrics, including Helen of Troy and Other Poems (1911), Rivers to t...

Ditko, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Ditko, Steve (Stephen John Ditko), 1927–2018, American comic-book artist, b. Johnstown, Pa., studied early 1950s Cartoonist and Illustrator School (later School of Visual Arts), New York City. Much ...

nonlinear dynamics

(Encyclopedia)nonlinear dynamics, study of systems governed by equations in which a small change in one variable can induce a large systematic change; the discipline is more popularly known as chaos (see chaos theo...

Nadab

(Encyclopedia)Nadab nāˈdăb [key]. 1 Aaron's eldest son, set apart for the priesthood. The exact nature of the transgression (“offering strange fire”) for which he and his brother Abihu died is not clear. 2 K...
 

Browse by Subject