Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lasea

(Encyclopedia)Lasea lāsēˈə [key], ancient town of Crete, S of Candia. It was near the harbor called Fair Havens. The Acts of the Apostles reports that it is where Paul landed. Some ruins remain. ...

Thyatira

(Encyclopedia)Thyatira thīˌətīˈrə [key], ancient city of Lydia, now Akhisar, Turkey. It was one of the Seven Churches in Asia and was known for its purple dye (Acts 16.14). ...

Silas

(Encyclopedia)Silas sīˈləs [key], in the Acts of the Apostles, early Christian leader and companion of Paul on two missionary journeys. Probably he is the Silvanus mentioned frequently in the Letters. ...

Cooper, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Cooper, Thomas, 1759–1839, American scientist, educator, and political philosopher, b. London, educated at Oxford. His important works include Political Essays (1799); the appendixes to the Memoirs ...

Great Society

(Encyclopedia)Great Society, in U.S. history, term for the domestic policies of President Lyndon Johnson. In his first State of the Union message, he called for a war on poverty and the creation of a “Great Socie...

placenta

(Encyclopedia)placenta pləsĕnˈtə [key] or afterbirth, organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy. It is a unique characteristic of the higher (or placental) mammals. In humans it is a thick mass, about ...

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

(Encyclopedia)Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, in U.S. history, resolutions passed in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were enacted by the Federalists in 1798. The Jeffersonian Republicans first r...

Howard, John, English prison reformer

(Encyclopedia)Howard, John, 1726–90, English prison reformer. He had great influence in improving sanitary conditions and securing humane treatment in prisons throughout Europe. He was responsible (1774) for pers...

Hauraki Gulf

(Encyclopedia)Hauraki Gulf houräˈkē, –răˈkē [key], large inlet of the Pacific Ocean, N North Island, New Zealand, forming the entrance to Auckland harbor. Numerous islands are found in the gulf; Great Barri...

Judas of Galilee

(Encyclopedia)Judas of Galilee, fl. a.d. 6, a leader of the Zealots, a radical revolutionary Jewish sect. He raised an insurrection against the taxation census of Cyrenius (a.d. 6) on the grounds that no one but Go...