Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

358 results found

kithara

(Encyclopedia)kithara sĭthˈ– [key], musical instrument of the ancient Greeks. It was a plucked instrument, a larger and stronger form of the lyre, used by professional musicians both for solo playing and for th...

gauss

(Encyclopedia)gauss gous [key] [for C. F. Gauss], abbr. G, unit of magnetic flux density (see flux, magnetic) equal to 0.0001 (10−4) weber per square meter. Since this unit is derived from the cgs system of units...

forging

(Encyclopedia)forging, shaping metal by heating it and then hammering or rolling it. Forging is the method by which metal was first worked when it came into use about 4000 b.c. in Egypt and Asia. Modern forging is ...

Eisenstaedt, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Eisenstaedt, Alfred, 1898–1995, American photographer, b. Dirschau, Germany (now Tczew, Poland). Widely considered the father of photojournalism, he began creating photo essays in Berlin during the ...

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

(Encyclopedia)Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, accredited institution of higher education; in New York City; coeducational; chartered and opened in 1859. Founded by Peter Cooper, it pioneered in...

Ellora

(Encyclopedia)Ellora ĕlōˈrə [key], village, E central Maharashtra state, India. Extending more than 1 mi (1.6 km) on a hill are 34 rock and cave temples (5th–13th cent.), most of them Hindu but some Buddhist ...

Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste frādārēkˈ ōgüstˈ bärtōldēˈ [key], 1834–1904, French sculptor, b. Colmar, Alsace. He studied painting under Ary Scheffer but turned to sculpture. Among his ma...

plateau

(Encyclopedia)plateau, elevated, level or nearly level portion of the earth's surface, larger in summit area than a mountain and bounded on at least one side by steep slopes, occurring on land or in oceans. Some pl...

President's Park

(Encyclopedia)President's Park, c.82 acres (33 hectares), Washington, D.C. A unit of the National Park system, it includes the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States; Lafayette Sq...

Ryman, Robert Tracy

(Encyclopedia)Ryman, Robert Tracy, 1930–2019, American painter, b. Nashville, Tenn. While working (1953–60) as a guard at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City he was immersed in modern and contemporary wor...