Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lang, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Lang, Andrew, 1844–1912, English scholar and man of letters, b. Scotland. His poetry, much of it written in the forms of ballades, triolets, and rondeaux, appeared in such volumes as his Ballads in ...

John Frederick I

(Encyclopedia)John Frederick I, 1503–54, elector (1532–47) and duke (1547–54) of Saxony; last elector of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin. Like his father, John the Steadfast, whom he succeeded, Jo...

Simon of Cyrene

(Encyclopedia)Simon of Cyrene sīrēˈnē [key], in the New Testament, bystander made to carry Jesus' cross. He was probably an African Jew, and is identified as the father of Alexander and Rufus. ...

American Medical Association

(Encyclopedia)American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth o...

Molly Maguires

(Encyclopedia)Molly Maguires məgwīˈərz [key], secret organization of Irish-Americans in the coal-mining districts of Pennsylvania. Its name came from a woman who led an extralegal, antilandlord organization in ...

Fabian, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Fabian, Saint fāˈbēən [key], pope (236–50), a Roman; successor of St. Anterus and predecessor of St. Cornelius. He recast the ecclesiastical organization in Rome. Fabian was martyred under Deciu...

Leo III, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo recovered and...

Juneteenth

(Encyclopedia)Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, June 19th, holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. It began in Texas when news of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (effective Jan. 1, 1863) fina...

International Peace Bureau

(Encyclopedia)International Peace Bureau (IPB), organization est. 1891 in Bern, Switerland, by Fredrik Bajer and other members of the third World Peace Congress. Dedicated to promoting world peace, it brought toget...

Brahmo Samaj

(Encyclopedia)Brahmo Samaj bräˈmō səmäjˈ [key] [Hindi,=society of God], Indian religious movement, founded in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1828 by Rammohun Roy. It promoted a monotheistic, reformed Hinduism with str...