Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

422 results found

Farrakhan, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Farrakhan, Louis fârˈəkănˌ, färˈəkänˌ [key], 1933–, African-American religious leader, b. New York City, as Louis Eugene Walcott. A former calypso singer known as “The Charmer,” he joi...

Gilgal

(Encyclopedia)Gilgal gĭlˈgăl [key], in the Bible. 1 First encampment of the Israelites near Jericho, W of the Jordan; Saul was made king there. It was also the scene of Saul's impetuous sacrifice before battle i...

Kishon

(Encyclopedia)Kishon kīˈshŏn [key] [Heb. Qishon=tortuous], intermittent river, c.45 mi (70 km) long, rising below Mt. Gilboa, N Israel, and flowing NW to the Mediterranean Sea near Haifa; only the lower 7-mi (11...

Day, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Day, Benjamin, 1838–1916, American printer; son of Benjamin Henry Day. While working in New York City, Day invented a process, utilizing celluloid sheets, for shading plates in the color printing of...

Randolph, Thomas, English poet and dramatist

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Thomas, 1605–35, English poet and dramatist. After graduating from Cambridge in 1632, he went to London where he became a disciple of Ben Jonson. His best-known poems are “A Gratulatory ...

Proverbs

(Encyclopedia)Proverbs, book of the Bible. It is a collection of sayings, many of them moral maxims, in no special order. The teaching is of a practical nature; it does not dwell on the salvation-historical traditi...

Clark, John

(Encyclopedia)Clark, John, 1766–1832, governor of Georgia (1819–23), b. Edgecomb co., N.C. As a boy he served with his father, Elijah Clarke, in the American Revolution and afterward won distinction as an India...

Ball, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Ball, Thomas, 1819–1911, American sculptor, b. Charlestown, Mass.; son of a house and sign painter. Thomas Ball was also a singer of reputation, the first in the United States to sing the title role...

Bath-sheba

(Encyclopedia)Bath-sheba băthˈ-shēbə, –shēˈbə [key], in the Bible, wife of Uriah the Hittite. David seduced her, effected the death of her husband, and then married her. Her second son by David was Solomon...

Jeroboam I

(Encyclopedia)Jeroboam I jĕrəbōˈəm [key], in the Bible, first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was an Ephraimite and led a revolt against Solomon, inspired probably by the restlessness of N Palestine...

Browse by Subject