Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

metaphysical poets

(Encyclopedia)metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

Mitchell, John Newton

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, John Newton, 1913–88, U.S. Attorney General (1969–72), b. Detroit. A law partner of Richard M. Nixon, he managed Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign and was made (1969) Attorney General. ...

meistersinger

(Encyclopedia)meistersinger mīˈstərsĭngˌər, Ger. mīˈshtərzĭngˌər [key] [Ger.,=mastersinger], a member of one of the musical and poetic guilds that flourished in German cities during the 15th and 16th ce...

Mellon Foundation

(Encyclopedia)Mellon Foundation, officially the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, philanthropic trust formed (1969) through the merger of the Avalon Foundation (est. 1940 by Ailsa Mellon Bruce) and the Old Dominion Foun...

Newgate

(Encyclopedia)Newgate nyo͞oˈgĭt [key], former prison in the City of London, England, originally in the gatehouse of the principal west gate of London. Dating from the 12th cent. and burned by Wat Tyler's followe...

Louis II, king of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Louis II, 1845–86, king of Bavaria (1864–86), son and successor of King Maximilian II. Much was hoped from the handsome, talented, and liberal young prince at his accession, but his prodigality an...

Balchen, Bernt

(Encyclopedia)Balchen, Bernt bârnt bälˈkən [key], 1899–1973, Norwegian-American aviator. He headed one of the search expeditions for Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1925 and was a member of their 1926 expedition to...

Bache, Benjamin Franklin

(Encyclopedia)Bache, Benjamin Franklin bāch [key], 1769–98, American journalist, b. Philadelphia; son of Richard Bache and grandson of Benjamin Franklin. In 1790 he founded the Philadelphia General Advertiser (l...

photorealism

(Encyclopedia)photorealism, international art movement of the late 1960s and 70s that stressed the precise rendering of subject matter, often taken from actual photographs or painted with the aid of slides. Also kn...

Rogers, William Pierce

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, William Pierce, 1913–2001, U.S. government official, b. Norfolk, N.Y. Admitted to the bar in 1937, he served (1947–50) as chief counsel to two Senate investigating committees before becomi...