Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Augustine of Canterbury, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Augustine of Canterbury, Saint ôˈgəstēn, –tĭn; ôgŭsˈtĭn [key], d. c.605, Italian missionary, called the Apostle of the English, first archbishop of Canterbury (from 601). A Roman monk, he w...

Channing, William Ellery

(Encyclopedia)Channing, William Ellery, 1780–1842, American Unitarian minister and author, b. Newport, R.I. At 23 he was ordained minister of the Federal St. Congregational Church in Boston, where he served until...

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

(Encyclopedia)French Southern and Antarctic Lands, overseas territory of France, including Adélie Land, which covers c.200,000 sq mi (520,000 sq km) in Antarctica, and a number of islands in the S Indian Ocean. Th...

Fortunate Isles

(Encyclopedia)Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, in classical and Celtic legend, islands in the Western Ocean. There the souls of favored mortals were received by the gods and lived happily in a paradise. Belie...

Arctic Archipelago

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Archipelago ärkˈtĭk, ärˈtĭk [key], group of more than 50 large islands, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, N Canada, in the Arctic Ocean. The southernmost members of the group include Baf...

Samoa, island chain, SW Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Samoa, chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, comprising the independent nation of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa), and E of long. 171° W, the islands of American Samoa, under U.S. control. T...

Paul, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paul, Saint, d. a.d. 64? or 67?, the apostle to the Gentiles, b. Tarsus, Asia Minor. He was a Jew. His father was a Roman citizen, probably of some means, and Paul was a tentmaker by trade. His Jewish...

Kiribati

(Encyclopedia)Kiribati kĭrˌĭbăsˈ [key], officially Republic of Kiribati (2015 est. pop. 112,000), 342 sq mi (886 sq km), consisting of 33 islands scattered across 2,400 mi (3,860 km) of the Pacific Ocean near ...

Vestmannaeyjar

(Encyclopedia)Vestmannaeyjar vĕstˈmänäāˌyär [key], group of 15 small islands, c.10 mi (16 km) S of Iceland. In English they are known as the Westman Islands. The largest and most populous is Heimaey [home is...

Dahlak Archipelago

(Encyclopedia)Dahlak Archipelago däläkˈ ärkĭpĕlˈəgō [key], island group, Eritrea, in the Red Sea off Massawa. There are two large, inhabited islands and more than 200 small, largely uninhabited islands. Th...