Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron, 1778–1863, British soldier and colonial administrator. He served in Egypt (1801) and Sicily (1806), participated (1808–14) in the Peninsular War, and helped to de...

Canadian literature, French

(Encyclopedia)Canadian literature, French, the body of literature of the French-speaking population of Canada. Except for the narratives of French explorers (such as Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Esprit Radisson) ...

Ramadan

(Encyclopedia)Ramadan rämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the f...

Adventists

(Encyclopedia)Adventists ădˈvĕnˌtĭsts [key] [advent, Lat.,=coming], members of a group of related religious denominations whose distinctive doctrine centers in their belief concerning the imminent second comin...

solar time

(Encyclopedia)solar time, time defined by the position of the sun. The solar day is the time it takes for the sun to return to the same meridian in the sky. Local solar time is measured by a sundial. When the cente...

Devon Island

(Encyclopedia)Devon Island, c.20,900 sq mi (54,100 sq km), Nunavut Territory, Canada, between Baffin and Ellesmere islands.

Point Grey

(Encyclopedia)Point Grey, suburb of Vancouver, SW British Columbia, Canada. It is the site of the Univ. of British Columbia.

coureurs de bois

(Encyclopedia)coureurs de bois ko͞orörˈ də bwä [key] [Fr.,=woods runners], unlicensed traders during the French regime in Canada. Traders were required to be licensed, but to only a favored few were licenses g...

Anticosti

(Encyclopedia)Anticosti ăntĭkŏsˈtē [key], low, flat island, 135 mi (217 km) long and 10 to 30 mi (16–48 km) wide, E Que., Canada, at the head of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The isl...

Niagara-on-the-Lake

(Encyclopedia)Niagara-on-the-Lake or Niagara, town (1991 pop. 12,945), S Ont., Canada, on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River. It was settled (1784) by American Loyalists and in 1792 Lt. Gov. Simcoe made...

Browse by Subject