Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Jacob jāˈkəb [key], in the Bible, ancestor of the Hebrews, the younger of Isaac and Rebecca's twin sons; the older was Esau. In exchange for a bowl of lentil soup, Jacob obtained Esau's birthright ...

Schism of East and West

(Encyclopedia)Schism of East and West, division between the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church. See Christianity; Ferrara-Florence, Council of; Leo IX, Saint; Lyons, Second Council of; papacy; Ph...

Bandaranaike, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias

(Encyclopedia)Bandaranaike, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias, 1899–1959, prime minister (1956–59) of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka); husband of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. A lawyer educated in England, he entered politics and r...

West Indies, University of the

(Encyclopedia)West Indies, University of the, autonomous regional institution with main campuses in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados; coeducational; est. 1948 in Mona, Jamaica, as an external university college of t...

Fawcett, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Fawcett, Henry fôˈsət [key], 1833–84, English economist and statesman. A follower of John Stuart Mill, he was professor of political economy at Cambridge, and his Manual of Political Economy (186...

Westmacott, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Westmacott, Mary: see Christie, Dame Agatha. ...

Gratz, Barnard

(Encyclopedia)Gratz, Barnard grăts [key], 1738–1801, American merchant, b. Langensdorf, Upper Silesia. Having worked in his cousin's countinghouse in London, Gratz emigrated (1754) to Philadelphia, where he beca...

Hesburgh, Theodore Martin

(Encyclopedia)Hesburgh, Theodore Martin, 1917–2015, American educator and civil rights advocate, b. Syracuse, N.Y., grad. Pontifical Gregorian Univ. (1939), Catholic Univ. of America (Ph.D., 1945). A member of th...

Robinson, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Bill, 1878–1949, African-American tap dancer popularly known as “Bojangles,” b. Richmond, Va., as Luther Robinson. An influential virtuoso tap dancer, he was a tap innovator and repute...

Exploits

(Encyclopedia)Exploits, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising in the Long Range, SW Newfoundland, N.L., Canada, and flowing NE to Exploits Bay, an arm of Notre Dame Bay. On the river are Grand Falls and Bishop's Fa...