Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Warton, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Warton, Joseph, 1722–1800, English critic and poet, brother of Thomas Warton. Educated at Winchester and Oxford, he took holy orders in 1744 and served several cures. He spent an unsuccessful tenure...

golem

(Encyclopedia)golem gōˈləm [key] [Heb.,=an undeveloped lump], in medieval Jewish legend, an automatonlike servant made of clay and given life by means of a charm, or shem [Heb.,=name, or the name of God]. Golems...

Hecate

(Encyclopedia)Hecate hĕkˈətē, hĕkˈĭt [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of ghosts and witchcraft. Originally she seems to have been an extremely powerful and benevolent goddess, identified with ...

Tauber, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Tauber, Richard touˈbər [key], 1891–1948, Austrian tenor. He made his debut (1913) in Chemnitz, Germany, as Tamino in Mozart's Magic Flute. Later he sang in opera and concert all over Europe and m...

Cornell, Joseph

(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...

hex

(Encyclopedia)hex, witchcraft or one who works it. The word is of German origin, and beliefs connected with it spread from Europe to the United States, especially to the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The hex can be w...

Elkin, Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Elkin, Stanley, 1930–95, American writer, b. New York City. An offbeat fiction writer, Elkin had a gift for black comedy, fantastic imagery, bizarre situations, and a kind of lyrical bleakness, all ...

Bacon, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Bacon, Peggy, 1895–1987, American illustrator, caricaturist, and etcher, b. Ridgefield, Conn. She illustrated more than 60 books including works by George Ade, Carl Sandburg, and Louis Untermeyer, a...
 

Browse by Subject