Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

235 results found

Milwaukee

(Encyclopedia)Milwaukee mĭlwŏkˈē [key], city (1990 pop. 628,088), seat of Milwaukee co., SE Wis., at the point where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers enter Lake Michigan; inc. 1846. The largest...

cosmic rays

(Encyclopedia)cosmic rays, charged particles moving at nearly the speed of light reaching the earth from outer space. Primary cosmic rays consist mostly of protons (nuclei of hydrogen atoms), some alpha particles (...

Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de gäspärˈ də shätēyôNˈ kôNt də kōlēnyēˈ [key], 1519–72, French Protestant leader. A nephew of Anne, duc de Montmorency, he came to the French cou...

Jainism

(Encyclopedia)Jainism jīˈnĭzəm [key] [i.e., the religion of Jina], religious system of India practiced by about 5,000,000 persons. Jainism, Ajivika, and Buddhism arose in the 6th cent. b.c. as protests against ...

APRA

(Encyclopedia)APRA äˈprä [key] or the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana, reformist political party in Peru, also called the Partido Aprista. Founded (1924) by Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre while in exile,...

Mirabeau, Honoré Gabriel Riquetti, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Mirabeau, Honoré Gabriel Riquetti or Riqueti, comte de ōnôrāˈ gäbrēĕlˈ rēkĕtēˈ kôNt də mēräbōˈ [key], 1749–91, French revolutionary and political leader; son of Victor de Mirabeau...

logical positivism

(Encyclopedia)logical positivism, also known as logical or scientific empiricism, modern school of philosophy that attempted to introduce the methodology and precision of mathematics and the natural sciences into t...

Audubon, John James

(Encyclopedia)Audubon, John James ôˈdəbŏn [key], 1785–1851, American ornithologist, b. Les Cayes, Santo Domingo (now Haiti). The illegitimate son of a French sea captain and plantation owner and a Creole cham...

Turin

(Encyclopedia)Turin to͝orˈĭn, tyo͝orˈ–, tyo͝orĭnˈ [key], Ital. Torino, city (1991 pop. 962,507), capital of Piedmont and of Turin prov., NW Italy, at the confluence of the Po and Dora Riparia rivers. It i...

Rodin, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Rodin, Auguste ōgüstˈ rōdăNˈ [key], 1840–1917, French sculptor, b. Paris. He began his art study at 14 in the Petite École and in the school of Antoine Barye, earning his living by working fo...

Browse by Subject