Columbia Encyclopedia

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Cradle of Humankind

(Encyclopedia)Cradle of Humankind, extensive archaeological site, c.180 sq mi (470 sq km), encompassing dolomitic limestone caves containing numerous hominin fossils, Gauteng and North West prov., South Africa, c.3...

Tynan, Kenneth Peacock

(Encyclopedia)Tynan, Kenneth Peacock tīˈnən [key], 1927–80, English drama critic, author, and theatrical executive, b. Birmingham, England. During the 1950s, while writing for The Observer, Tynan was widely re...

Mark, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Mark, Saint [Lat. Marcus], Christian apostle, traditional author of the 2d Gospel (see Mark, Gospel according to). His full name was John Mark. His mother, named Mary, had a house in Jerusalem, which ...

bowls

(Encyclopedia)bowls, ancient sport (the bocce of Caesar's Rome is still played by Italians), especially popular in Great Britain and Australia, known as lawn bowls or bowling on the green in the United States. It w...

Temple, William

(Encyclopedia)Temple, William, 1881–1944, archbishop of York (1929–42) and archbishop of Canterbury (1942–44); son of Frederick Temple. At Balliol College, Oxford, he became (1904) president of the Oxford Uni...

Oxford, University of

(Encyclopedia)Oxford, University of, at Oxford, England, one of the oldest English-language universities in the world. The university was a leading center of learning throughout the Middle Ages; such scholars as Ro...

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(Encyclopedia)National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and seg...

Paul of Samosata

(Encyclopedia)Paul of Samosata səmŏsˈətə [key], fl. 260–72, Syrian Christian theologian, heretical patriarch of Antioch. He was a friend and high official of Zenobia of Palmyra. Paul enounced a dynamic monar...

Blau, Joseph Leon

(Encyclopedia)Blau, Joseph Leon blou [key] 1909–86, American Jewish scholar and educator, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Columbia (A.B., 1931; M.A., 1933; Ph.D., 1945). He taught at Columbia from 1944, becoming profess...

Hermes, in Greek religion and mythology

(Encyclopedia)Hermes, in Greek religion and mythology, son of Zeus and Maia. His functions were many, but he was primarily the messenger of the gods, particularly of Zeus, and conductor of souls to Hades. He was go...