Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

gunpowder

(Encyclopedia)gunpowder, explosive mixture; its most common formula, called “black powder,” is a combination of saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon in the form of charcoal. Historically, the relative amounts of the c...

Culpeper, Thomas Culpeper, 2d Baron

(Encyclopedia)Culpeper, Thomas Culpeper, 2d Baron kŭlˈpĕpˌər [key], 1635–89, English colonial governor of Virginia. In 1673, with the earl of Arlington, he was granted all lands in Virginia not previously pa...

Ramus, Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Ramus, Petrus pyĕr də lä rämāˈ [key], 1515–72, French humanist and philosopher. Attempting to break through Aristotelian and scholastic traditions, Ramus wrote a number of works that became in...

M'Ba, Léon

(Encyclopedia)M'Ba, Léon lāôNˈ əmbäˈ [key], 1902–67, Gabonese political leader. He was a member of the dominant Fang ethnic group. When Gabon became a self-governing republic in the French Community (1958)...

Institute for Advanced Study

(Encyclopedia)Institute for Advanced Study, at Princeton, N.J.; chartered 1930, opened 1933. It differs from a university in that it offers no curriculum or examinations, and confers no degrees. Founded with a gift...

Doumer, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Doumer, Paul pōl do͞omârˈ [key], 1857–1932, president of the French republic (1931–32). He entered the chamber of deputies in 1888, was governor-general of Indochina (1897–1902) and a senato...

Newman, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Newman, Ernest, 1868–1959, English music critic. He joined the staff of the Manchester Guardian in 1905, the Birmingham Daily Post in 1906, the London Observer in 1919, and The Times of London in 19...

Palmer, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Palmer, Samuel, 1805–81, English landscape watercolorist, etcher, and mystic. Under the influence of William Blake he produced in sepia a series of remarkable visionary drawings of moonlit landscape...

Varley, John

(Encyclopedia)Varley, John, 1778–1842, English painter in watercolor; one of the founders of the Old Water Colour Society. He is best known for his paintings of Welsh mountain country. He was also an influential ...

Leopold II, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I. His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M. Stanley...