Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

pessimism

(Encyclopedia)pessimism, philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. In religion Buddhism and...

San Marcos, University of

(Encyclopedia)San Marcos, University of, at Lima, Peru; the first university in South America; founded 1551 by the Spanish king Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) and recognized by papal bull in 1571; closed ...

Santo Tomás, University of

(Encyclopedia)Santo Tomás, University of sänˈtō tōmäsˈ [key], at Manila, the Philippines; Roman Catholic, coeducational; founded 1611 by Dominican priests. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in ...

Olcott, Henry Steel

(Encyclopedia)Olcott, Henry Steel, 1832–1907, American religious leader and author, cofounder of Theosophist movement, b. Orange, N.J. After working as an agricultural scientist and a lawyer, he and Helena Blavat...

Nahmanides

(Encyclopedia)Nahmanides nähmänˈĭdēz [key], 1194–c.1270, Jewish scholar, exegete, and kabbalist, b. Spain. He wrote commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. A mystic, he rejected part of Maimonides' ...

Rogers, William Barton

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, William Barton, 1804–82, American geologist and educator, b. Philadelphia, grad. William and Mary, 1822. He was professor of geology at William and Mary (1828–35) and at the Univ. of Virgi...

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

(Encyclopedia)Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand gänˈdē [key], 1869–1948, Indian political and spiritual leader, b. Porbandar. In 1942, after rejection of his offer to cooperate with Great Britain in World War II ...

monotheism

(Encyclopedia)monotheism mŏnˈəthēĭzəm [key] [Gr.,=belief in one God], in religion, a belief in one personal god. In practice, monotheistic religion tends to stress the existence of one personal god that unifi...

Telangana

(Encyclopedia)Telangana, state (2011 pop. 35,286,757), 44,340 sq mi (114,840 sq km), S central India. Created in 2014 from NW Andhra Pradesh, it is bordered by Maharashtra (N), Chhattisgarh and Odisha (NE), Andhra ...

Thugs

(Encyclopedia)Thugs thŭgz [key], former Indian religious sect of murderers and robbers, also called Phansigars [stranglers]. Membership was primarily hereditary and included both Hindus and Muslims, but all were d...
 

Browse by Subject