Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Eric

[er-ik]

Bentley, Eric, 1916-, American critic, editor, and translator, b. Bolton, England, grad. Oxford, 1938, Ph.D. Yale, 1941. A highly regarded and rigorously intellectual critic, particularly of the drama, Bentley is the author of such works as A Century of Hero-Worship (1944), The Playwright as Thinker (1946), Bernard Shaw (1947), What Is Theatre? (1956), The Life of the Drama (1964), The Importance of Scrutiny (1964), Theatre of War (1972), Brecht Commentaries (1981), Thinking about the Playwright (1987), and Bentley on Brecht (1998). He is also known for his translations of plays by Bertolt Brecht and Luigi Pirandello and for his editions of collected plays, including The Classic Theatre (4 vol., 1958-61). He was the drama critic for the New Republic from 1952 to 1956 and taught at Columbia, where he was a professor until 1969, and several other universities. Also a playwright, Bentley has written about a number of plays since the 1970s, on a wide variety of subjects including Galileo, Oscar Wilde, and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Eric

Ambler, Eric, 1909-98, English novelist. An advertising executive, he turned exclusively to writing after his realistic and innovative suspense novels became popular. Ambler has often been called the first thriller writer whose work succeeded as literature. His heroes are usually ordinary men who become accidentally or innocently involved in international intrigues. Several of his novels were made into films, e.g., A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939, film 1944), Journey into Fear (1940, film 1942), and Topkapi (1962, film 1964). Among his other thrillers are Passage of Arms (1959), To Catch a Spy (1964), Doctor Frigo (1974), and The Care of Time (1981). Ambler also wrote screenplays, including those for The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Guns of Navarone (1961).

See his autobiography, Here Lies (1985).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Eric

Heiden, Eric, 1958-, American speed skater, b. Madison, Wis. After competing in the 1976 Winter Olympics, he won three consecutive World Speedskating Championships (1977-79). In 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., he became the first athlete ever to win five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics. After his retirement from competition, he became an orthopedic surgeon and the medical director of the U.S. speedskating and cycling teams.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Eric

Williams, Eric, 1911-81, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago (1961-81). He attended Oxford and taught at Howard Univ. in Washington, D.C. (1939-53). Returning to Trinidad, he founded (1955) the country's first formal political party. He became chief minister in 1956 and prime minister in 1961. Elections in 1966 and 1971 reaffirmed his position. He led his country to independence within the Commonwealth of Nations (1962). Williams launched several ambitious five-year development plans, attracting foreign capital through tax incentives and acquiring foreign aid. He concentrated his efforts on the improvement of education and the development and diversification of industry and agriculture. Although of African descent, he faced increasing black militant opposition to his government. His numerous writings include The Negro in the Caribbean (1942, repr. 1970); History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago (1964); British Historians and the West Indies (1964); and From Columbus to Castro (1970, repr. 1983).

See his autobiography, Inward Hunger (1969).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Eric

Rohmer, Eric, 1920-2010, French film director and writer, b. Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer. He was a founder (1950) of La Gazette du cinéma, cowrote (1957) a study of Alfred Hitchcock, and edited (1957-63) the influential journal Cahiers du cinéma. One of the founders of France's cinematic "New Wave," he made short films in the 1950s before directing his first feature, The Sign of Leo (1959), in which he initiated his typically calm and intellectual style, emphasizing the flow of conversation and ideas and portraying little physical action. In 1962 he began a cycle of "Six Moral Tales," which explore relationships between men and women, achieving popular and critical success with My Night at Maud's (1969), Claire's Knee (1970), and Chloe in the Afternoon (1972). After two stylized period dramas, The Marquise of O (1976) and Perceval (1978), he began another contemporary cycle, "Comedies and Proverbs," highlighted by the acclaimed Pauline at the Beach (1983) and Summer (1986). Rohmer's later films include his "Four Seasons" quartet (1990-98), the historical The Lady and the Duke (2001), and his final work, Romance of Astrée and Céladon (2007).

See study by C. G. Crisp (1988).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Williams, Eric (Eustace)

(born Sept. 25, 1911, Port of Spain, Trin.—died March 29, 1981, St. Anne, near Port of Spain) First prime minister of independent Trinidad and Tobago (1962–81). He received a doctorate from the University of Oxford and served on the faculty of Howard University in the U.S. before founding the People's National Movement (PNM) in 1956 and taking his nation into the Federation of the West Indies in 1958 only to withdraw in favour of independence in 1962. Oil reserves helped boost the nation's income, and Williams remained popular until 1970, when an economic downturn led to unsuccessful revolts. He served as prime minister until his death. Capitalism and Slavery (1944) and From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean, 1492–1969 (1970) were among his many books.

Learn more about Williams, Eric (Eustace) with a free trial on Britannica.com.