Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Safdie, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Safdie, Moshe mōshāˈ säfˈdē [key], 1938–, Israeli-Canadian architect, b. Haifa. He grew up in Israel, moved to Canada with his family at 15, studied architecture at McGill Univ. and with Louis...

Rosenquist, James

(Encyclopedia)Rosenquist, James, 1933–2017, American painter, b. Grand Forks, N.Dak., studied Univ. of Minnesota (1952–54), Art Students League, New York City (1955). An important figure in the pop art movement...

unidentified flying object

(Encyclopedia)unidentified flying object or UFO, an object or light reportedly seen in the sky whose appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behavior do not readily suggest a logical, convention...

Taliban

(Encyclopedia)Taliban or Taleban tälēbänˈ, –lə– [key], Islamic fundamentalist militia of Afghanistan and later Pakistan, originally consisting mainly of Sunni Pashtun religious students from Afghanistan wh...

Ashdown Forest

(Encyclopedia)Ashdown Forest, area of heathland and forest, c.10 sq mi (2,500 ha), East Sussex, SE England, famous as the setting for the Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne. E. H. Shepard's evocative illustration...

Magdala, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Magdala măgˈdələ [key], in the New Testament, home of Mary Magdalene. It is identified with Migdal, Israel, a town on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, and the neighboring site of the former A...

Marsala

(Encyclopedia)Marsala märsäˈlä [key], city (1991 pop. 80,177), W Sicily, Italy, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, located on Cape Boeo. It is noted for its sweet wine. The ancient Lilybaeum, it was later renamed...

Mustafa III

(Encyclopedia)Mustafa III, 1717–73, Ottoman sultan (1757–73), son of Ahmed III. He succeeded his cousin Osman III to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The chief event of his reign was the war of 1768...

Mustafa IV

(Encyclopedia)Mustafa IV, 1778–1808, Ottoman sultan (1807–8), son of Abd al-Hamid I. He was raised to the throne by the reactionary Janissaries who had deposed Mustafa's cousin, Selim III, because they opposed ...

Mukalla

(Encyclopedia)Mukalla məkäˈlə, mo͞okălˈə [key], town (1994 pop. 94,051), S Yemen, a port on the Gulf of Aden. It is the chief settlement of the Hadhramaut and the capital of the former sultanate of Qaiti. F...

Browse by Subject