Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Autolycus, Greek astronomer and mathematician

(Encyclopedia)Autolycus ôtŏlˈĭkəs [key], fl. 4th cent. b.c., astronomer and mathematician of Pitane in Aeolis. Of his two extant works, that on the revolving sphere is said to be the oldest completely preserve...

Du Pont, Pete

(Encyclopedia) Du Pont, Pete (Pierre Samuel du Pont IV), 1935-2021, Wilmington, Del, Princeton Univ. (Mech. Engr., 1956); Harvard Law School (J.D., 1963). Du Pont wa...

Jhelum, river, India and Pakistan

(Encyclopedia)Jhelum or Jehlam both: jāˈləm [key], westernmost of the five rivers of the Punjab, 480 mi (772 km) long. Rising in Jammu and Kashmir, India, it flows W through the Vale of Kashmir, S through Pakist...

left

(Encyclopedia)left, in politics, the more radically progressive wing in any legislative body or party. The designation apparently originated in the French National Assembly of 1789, where the radicals were seated t...

riot, rout, and unlawful assembly

(Encyclopedia)riot, rout, and unlawful assembly, in law, varying degrees of concerted disturbance of the peace. At common law, an unlawful assembly is a gathering of at least three persons whose conduct causes obse...

Narva, river, Estonia and Russia

(Encyclopedia)Narva, river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in Lake Peipus (Chudskoye), E Estonia, and flowing northeast past the city of Narva into the Gulf of Finland. It forms the border between Estonia and Russia....

Forster, William Edward

(Encyclopedia)Forster, William Edward, 1818–86, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1861. As vice president of the council in William Gladstone's first ministry (1868–74), he introduced the...

centripetal force and centrifugal force

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Centripetal and centrifugal forces: When a ball is swung in a circle at the end of a string, centripetal and centrifugal forces act as shown above. centripetal force and centrifugal force, act...

Paraguay, river, Brazil and Paraguay

(Encyclopedia)Paraguay, river, c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) long, rising in the highlands of central Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Flowing generally southward, it forms the border between Brazil and Paraguay in the pantanal,...

Fakhfakh, Elyes

(Encyclopedia)Fakhfakh, Elyes, 1972–, Tunisian politician, prime minister of Tunisia, 2020. Trained as an engineer and manager in France, he worked for the French company Total in Europe, returning to Tunisia in ...

Browse by Subject