Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
Alsop, Marin
(Encyclopedia)Alsop, Marin ôlˈsəp [key], 1956–, American conductor, b. New York City. The daughter of professional musicians, she began playing the piano at two and the violin at five. Alsop started conducting...Southampton
(Encyclopedia)Southampton, city and unitary authority (2011 pop. 236,882), S England, at the head of Southampton Water. Southampton is Britain's second largest port. The London-Southampton railway, finished in 1840...Confucius
(Encyclopedia)Confucius kənfyo͞oˈshəs [key], Chinese K'ung Ch'iu or K'ung Fu-tzu, Pinyin Kong Fuzi, c.551–479? b.c., Chinese sage. Positive evidence concerning the life of Confucius is scanty; modern scholars...mandamus
(Encyclopedia)mandamus măndāˈməs [key] [Lat.,=we order], in law, writ directing the performance of ministerial acts. A ministerial act is one that a person or body is obliged by law to perform under given circu...Marion
(Encyclopedia)Marion. 1 City (1990 pop. 14,545), seat of Williamson co., S Ill.; inc. 1841. It is the commercial and retail center of a farm and coal area and has a large soft drink bottling plant. A maximum-securi...Louis VI, king of France
(Encyclopedia)Louis VI (Louis the Fat), 1081–1137, king of France (1108–37). He succeeded his father, Philip I, with whom he was associated in government from c.1100. He firmly established his authority within ...European Parliament
(Encyclopedia)European Parliament, an institution of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are h...force bill
(Encyclopedia)force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...multiple sclerosis
(Encyclopedia)multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic, slowly progressive autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective myelin sheaths that surround the nerve cells of the brain and spinal co...New Hampshire Grants
(Encyclopedia)New Hampshire Grants, early name (1749–77) for Vermont, given because most of the early settlers came in under land grants from Benning Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire. Although th...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
-
Places
+-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-