Columbia Encyclopedia

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wood carving

(Encyclopedia)wood carving, as an art form, includes any kind of sculpture in wood, from the decorative bas-relief on small objects to life-size figures in the round, furniture, and architectural decorations. The w...

English literature

(Encyclopedia)English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. For the...

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(Encyclopedia)National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and seg...

commune, in medieval history

(Encyclopedia)commune kômˈyo͞on [key], in medieval history, collective institution that developed in continental Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Because of the importance of the commune in municipal g...

saint, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)saint [O.Fr., from Latin sanctus=holy], in Christianity, a person who is recognized as worthy of veneration. Accounts of saints' lives have been favorite reading material for many, and at times thei...

soccer

(Encyclopedia)CE5 soccer, outdoor ball and goal game, also called association football or simply football. The first recorded game probably was that on a Shrove Tuesday in Derby, England, part of a festival to c...

Yukon, territory, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Yukon, territory (2001 pop. 28,674), 207,076 sq mi (536,327 sq km), NW Canada. The territory's history began with the explorations in the 1840s of Robert Campbell and John Bell, fur traders f...

Columbia University

(Encyclopedia)Columbia University, mainly in New York City; founded 1754 as King's College by grant of King George II; first college in New York City, fifth oldest in the United States; one of the eight Ivy League ...

Vatican Council, First

(Encyclopedia)Vatican Council, First, 1869–70, the 20th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church (see council, ecumenical), renowned chiefly for its enunciation of the doctrine of papal infallibility. Tw...

Springfield

(Encyclopedia)Springfield. 1 City (1990 pop. 105,227), state capital and seat of Sangamon co., central Ill., on the Sangamon River; settled 1818, inc. as a city 1840. In a rich agricultural region (sorghum, corn, c...