Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

lobster

(Encyclopedia)lobster, marine crustacean with five pairs of jointed legs, the first bearing large pincerlike claws of unequal size adapted to crushing the shells of its prey. The segmented body of the lobster consi...

ocean

(Encyclopedia)ocean, interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean. It is subdivided into four (or five) major units that are separated from each other i...

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

(Encyclopedia)Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn or Ryn rĕmˈbrănt, Du. rĕmˈbränt härˈmənsōn vän rīn [key], 1606–69, Dutch painter, etcher, and draftsman, b. Leiden. Rembrandt is acknowledged as the greate...

energy, sources of

(Encyclopedia)energy, sources of, origins of the power used for transportation, for heat and light in dwelling and working areas, and for the manufacture of goods of all kinds, among other applications. The develop...

Labour party

(Encyclopedia)Labour party, British political party, one of the two dominant parties in Great Britain since World War I. Harold Wilson, who became leader on Gaitskell's death in 1963, was able to lead the party t...

Murray, Anna Pauline "Pauli"

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Pauli, 1910–1985, American lawyer, priest, and activist, b. Baltimore, S.J.D. Yale University, 1965, MDiv, General Theological Seminary, 1976....

Bank of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Bank of the United States, name for two national banks established by the U.S. Congress to serve as government fiscal agents and as depositories for federal funds; the first bank was in existence from...

Reform Acts

(Encyclopedia)Reform Acts or Reform Bills, in British history, name given to three major measures that liberalized representation in Parliament in the 19th cent. Representation of the counties and boroughs in the H...

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of, 1621–83, English statesman. In the English civil war he supported the crown until 1644 but then joined the parliamentarians. He was made a member of ...

Chávez Frías, Hugo Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Chávez Frías, Hugo Rafael o͞oˈgō räfäĕlˈ chäˈvĕs frēˈäs [key], 1954–2013, Venezuelan political leader, president of Venezuela (1999–2013). Raised in poverty, he was educated at the ...