Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

communications satellite

(Encyclopedia)communications satellite artificial satellite that functions as part of a global radio-communications network. Echo 1, the first communications satellite, launched in 1960, was an instrumented inflat...

Dehaene, Jean-Luc

(Encyclopedia)Dehaene, Jean-Luc, 1940–2014, Belgian political leader, b. Montepellier, France. A member of the Flemish Christian People's (after 2001, Christian Democratic) party, he held numerous administrative ...

local government

(Encyclopedia)local government, political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country's territory and population. The British system of local government, which has been the model for most of that cou...

military government

(Encyclopedia)military government, rule of enemy territory under military occupation. It is distinguished from martial law, which is the temporary rule by domestic armed forces over disturbed areas. The practices o...

city government

(Encyclopedia)city government, political administration of urban areas. The English tradition of incorporating urban units (cities, boroughs, villages, towns) and allowing them freedom in most local matters is gene...

federal government

(Encyclopedia)federal government or federation, government of a union of states in which sovereignty is divided between a central authority and component state authorities. A federation differs from a confederation...

Wakefield, Edward Gibbon

(Encyclopedia)Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796–1862, British colonial statesman. He was attached to the British embassies in Turin (1814–16) and Paris (1820–26), but in 1826 was convicted of an attempt to marry...

Suiyuan

(Encyclopedia)Suiyuan swāˈyüänˈ [key], former province (c.126,000 sq mi/326,340 sq km), N China. The capital was Guisui (Hohhot). The region of Suiyuan, part of Inner Mongolia, is chiefly a high arid plateau; ...
 

Browse by Subject