Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

grandfather clause

(Encyclopedia)grandfather clause, provision in constitutions (adopted 1895–1910) of seven post–Reconstruction Southern states that exempted those persons who had been eligible to vote on Jan. 1, 1867, and their...

Limann, Hilla

(Encyclopedia)Limann, Hilla hĭlˈə lēˈmän [key], 1934–98, president of Ghana (1979–81). In 1979, after seven years of military rule, Ghana's new military leader, Jerry Rawlings, handed over power to Limann...

mean

(Encyclopedia)mean, in statistics, a type of average. The arithmetic mean of a group of numbers is found by dividing their sum by the number of members in the group; e.g., the sum of the seven numbers 4, 5, 6, 9, 1...

Stephen, Saint, Christian martyr

(Encyclopedia)Stephen, Saint, d. a.d. 36?, first Christian martyr, stoned at Jerusalem. He was one of the seven deacons. Accused of blasphemy, he was brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. His speech defending ...

Stephens, John Lloyd

(Encyclopedia)Stephens, John Lloyd, 1805–52, American author and traveler, b. Shrewsbury, N.J., grad. Columbia College, 1822. His travels (1834–36) in Europe, the Middle East, and Central America provided the m...

Skara Brae

(Encyclopedia)Skara Brae skârˈə brā [key], Stone Age village, on Mainland in the Orkney Islands, N Scotland. Dating from c.3200 to 2200 b.c., the village was preserved under a sand dune until uncovered by a sto...

Pleiades, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Pleiades, in Greek mythology, seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione. According to one legend they were the attendants of Artemis and were changed into stars by the gods when they were pursued...

Picard, Edmond

(Encyclopedia)Picard, Edmond ĕdmôNˈ pēkärˈ [key], 1836–1924, Belgian jurist and author. A brilliant lawyer, he was at various times president of the Belgian bar association and a member of the supreme court...

Quirinal

(Encyclopedia)Quirinal kwĭrˈĭnəl [key], one of the seven hills of Rome, NE of Capitoline Hill. It was the site of several ancient shrines and the quarter of the quirites, probably the aristocracy in the first c...

Pirna

(Encyclopedia)Pirna pĭrˈnä [key], city (1989 est. pop. 47,100), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. Manufactures of this industrial city include rayon, paper, glass, furniture, and steel. Nearby are sa...