Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dryden, John

(Encyclopedia)Dryden, John, 1631–1700, English poet, dramatist, and critic, b. Northamptonshire, grad. Cambridge, 1654. He went to London about 1657 and first came to public notice with his Heroic Stanzas (1659),...

Theresa, Saint (Theresa of Ávila)

(Encyclopedia)Theresa or Teresa, Saint (Theresa of Ávila) both: tĭrēˈsə, –zə [key], 1515–82, Spanish Carmelite nun, Doctor of the Church, one of the principal saints of the Roman Catholic Church, one of t...

Forillon National Park

(Encyclopedia)Forillon National Park fôˌrēyōNˈ [key], 92 sq mi (238 sq km), at the tip of Forillon Peninsula, SE Que., Canada, near Gaspé; est. 1970. On the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the park has a scenic coastal...

Bonaventure Island

(Encyclopedia)Bonaventure Island, 21⁄2 mi (4 km) long and 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) wide, off E Que., Canada, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, c.3 mi (5 km) N of Perce Rock. It has the largest bird sanctuary on the N Atlanti...

Chesapeake, ship

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake, U.S. frigate, famous for her role in the Chesapeake affair (June 22, 1807) and for her battle with the H.M.S. Shannon (June 1, 1813). The Chesapeake left Norfolk, Va., for the Mediterranea...

assembly line

(Encyclopedia)assembly line, manufacturing technique in which a product is carried by some form of mechanized conveyor among stations at which the various operations necessary to its assembly are performed. It is u...

Kyosai

(Encyclopedia)Kyosai (Kawanabe Kyosai), 1831–89, Japanese painter and caricaturist. He studied with Kano Tohaku and was influenced by Hokusai. He is considered Japan's first political caricaturist, and the politi...

land tax

(Encyclopedia)land tax, impost levied upon real property. It is sometimes called a real estate tax, especially when assessed against both improved and unimproved land. Probably the earliest direct tax and formerly ...

Red Cloud

(Encyclopedia)Red Cloud, b. 1821 or 1822, d. 1909, Oglala Sioux chief, b. near the Platte River in present-day Nebraska. He led the Native American fight against the establishment of the Bozeman Trail (see Bozeman,...

Offenbach, Jacques Levy

(Encyclopedia)Offenbach, Jacques Levy ôˈfənbäk, Fr. zhäk lāvēˈ ôfĕnbäkˈ [key], 1819–80, French composer, b. Cologne. The son of a cantor, he went to Paris to study at the conservatory and in 1849 beca...

Browse by Subject