Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Adams, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Henry, 1838–1918, American writer and historian, b. Boston; son of Charles Francis Adams (1807–86). He was secretary (1861–68) to his father, then U.S. minister to Great Britain. Upon his...

Nile

(Encyclopedia)Nile, longest river in the world, c.4,160 mi (6,695 km) long from its remotest headstream, the Luvironza River in Burundi, central Africa, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea, NE Egypt. The Nile flo...

learning

(Encyclopedia)learning, in psychology, the process by which a relatively lasting change in potential behavior occurs as a result of practice or experience. Learning is distinguished from behavioral changes arising ...

microscope

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Compound microscope microscope, optical instrument used to increase the apparent size of an object. The electron microscope, which is not limited by the powers of optical lenses and light,...

Liège, city, Belgium

(Encyclopedia)Liège, Du. Luik, Ger. Lüttich, city (1991 pop. 194,596), capital of Liège prov., E Belgium, at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers, near the Dutch and German borders. Greater Liège inclu...

Garibaldi, Giuseppe

(Encyclopedia)Garibaldi, Giuseppe gărĭbôlˈdē, Ital. jo͞ozĕpˈpā gärēbälˈdē [key], 1807–82, Italian patriot and soldier, a leading figure in the Risorgimento. He remains perhaps the most popular of al...

Seychelles

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Seychelles sāshĕlzˈ [key], officially Republic of Seychelles, republic (2015 est. pop. 94,000), c.110 sq mi (285 sq km), comprising approximately 100 islands in the Indian Ocean, c.600 mi (9...

Raphael Santi

(Encyclopedia)Raphael Santi or Raphael Sanzio, Ital. Raffaello Santi or Raffaello Sanzio räfˌfäĕlˈlō sänˈtē, sänˈtsyō [key], 1483–1520, major Italian Renaissance painter, b. Urbino. In Raphael's work ...

Riga

(Encyclopedia)Riga rēˈgə [key], city (2011 provisional pop. 657,424), capital of Latvia, on the Daugava (Western Dvina) River near its entry into the Gulf of Riga. A major Baltic port, it is also a rail junction...

Nobel Prizes (table)

(Encyclopedia)Nobel Prizes