Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

233 results found

Gómez de Avellaneda, Gertrudis

(Encyclopedia)Gómez de Avellaneda, Gertrudis hĕrtro͞oˈᵺēs gōˈmĕth dā ävĕlyänāˈᵺä [key], 1814–73, Spanish poet, b. Cuba. She went to Spain in 1836. Her passionate and poignant verses reflecting ...

Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3d duke of, 1735–1811, British statesman. After serving as a secretary of state (1765–66), he became first lord of the treasury in Lord Chatham's administration (1...

Drew, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Drew, Elizabeth, 1935–, American journalist, b. Cincinnati. A deeply insightful analyst of the national political scene, she was the Washington correspondent for two major U.S. magazines, the Atlant...

Profumo, John Dennis

(Encyclopedia)Profumo, John Dennis, 1915–2006, British politician. After studying at Harrow and Oxford, he entered Parliament as a Conservative member in 1940 and left in 1945 for an appointment as chief of staff...

Janáček, Leoš

(Encyclopedia)Janáček, Leoš lĕˈôsh yäˈnächĕk [key], 1854–1928, Czech composer, theorist, and collector of Slavic folk music. He studied in Prague and Leipzig and founded a music conservatory at Brno in ...

Langtry, Lillie

(Encyclopedia)Langtry, Lillie, 1853–1929, English actress, b. Jersey, Channel Islands; known as the Jersey Lily. One of the first English women of elevated social rank to go on the stage, she made her debut at th...

Petraeus, David Howell

(Encyclopedia)Petraeus, David Howell pĕtrāˈəs [key], 1952–, American military officer and government official, b. Cornwall, N.Y., studied West Point (B.S., 1974), U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (...

Brittan, Sir Leon

(Encyclopedia)Brittan, Sir Leon brĭtˈən [key], 1939–, British politician. Educated at Cambridge, he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1974. Under Margaret Thatcher he served as home secretary (198...

Lewinsky scandal

(Encyclopedia)Lewinsky scandal ləwĭnˈskē [key], sensation that enveloped the presidency of Bill Clinton in 1998–99, leading to his impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives and acquittal by the Senate....

Sophia Dorothea

(Encyclopedia)Sophia Dorothea sōfīˈə dŏrəthēˈə [key], 1666–1726, electress of Hanover, wife of Elector George Louis (later King George I of England); sometimes called Sophia Dorothea of Celle. Married to...