Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zuckerberg, Mark Elliot

(Encyclopedia)Zuckerberg, Mark Elliot, 1984–, American computer programmer and business executive, b. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. A computer prodigy as a child, he entered Harvard in 2002 and two years later co-founded The...

Bithynia

(Encyclopedia)Bithynia bĭthĭnˈēə [key], ancient country of NW Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The original inhabitants were Thracians who established themselves as independent and were given some autonomy a...

Chopin, Frédéric François

(Encyclopedia)Chopin, Frédéric François frādārēkˈ fräNswäˈ shôpăNˈ [key], 1810–49, composer for the piano, b. near Warsaw, of French and Polish parentage. His lyrical, often melancholy, compositions ...

Eddy, Mary Baker

(Encyclopedia)Eddy, Mary Baker, 1821–1910, founder of the Christian Science movement, b. Bow, N.H. As physical frailty prevented her regular school attendance, she spent the early part of her education learning a...

conservation laws

(Encyclopedia)conservation laws, in physics, basic laws that together determine which processes can or cannot occur in nature; each law maintains that the total value of the quantity governed by that law, e.g., mas...

eclipse

(Encyclopedia) CE5 A. Lunar eclipse B. Solar eclipse eclipse ēklĭpsˈ, ĭ– [key] [Gr.,=failing], in astronomy, partial or total obscuring of one celestial body by the shadow of another. Best known are the lu...

dating

(Encyclopedia)dating, the determination of the age of an object, of a natural phenomenon, or of a series of events. There are two basic types of dating methods, relative and absolute. In relative dating, the tempor...

Morse, John Torrey

(Encyclopedia)Morse, John Torrey, 1840–1937, American lawyer and biographer, b. Boston. Admitted to the bar in 1862, he practiced law in Boston until 1880, when he turned all his attention to writing. With Henry ...

Mayo, Henry Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Mayo, Henry Thomas, 1856–1937, American naval officer, b. Burlington, Vt. In 1913 he became commander of the Atlantic Fleet. At Tampico in 1914 he precipitated an international incident by demanding...

Marino, Giambattista

(Encyclopedia)Marino, Giambattista jämˌbät-tēˈstä märēˈnō [key], 1569–1625, Italian poet. His florid, highly elaborated style, called Marinismo, which was akin to euphuism, was much admired and imitated...
 

Browse by Subject