Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

463 results found

Simeon I

(Encyclopedia)Simeon I, c.863–927, ruler (893–927) and later first czar of Bulgaria. He was placed on the throne by his father, Boris I, who had returned from a monastery to depose his first son, Vladimir (reig...

cyclic compound

(Encyclopedia)cyclic compound, any one of a class of compounds whose molecules contain a number of atoms bonded together to form a closed chain or ring. If all of the atoms that form the ring are carbon, the compou...

Ardennes, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Ardennes ärdĕnˈ [key], department, NE France, in Champage, Grand Est region. The capital is Charleville-Mézières. Ardennes is also the name of a section of the easter...

Ferdinand, czar of Bulgaria

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand, 1861–1948, czar of Bulgaria (1908–18), after being ruling prince (1887–1908). A grandnephew of Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, he was chosen prince of Bulgaria after the enforced abdic...

Bely, Andrei

(Encyclopedia)Bely, Andrei bûryēsˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvyĭchˌ bo͞ogīˈĭf [key], 1880–1934, Russian writer. A leading symbolist, he had a close but stormy relationship with Aleksandr Blok. His poetry includes th...

pulley

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Pulleys: The mechanical advantage (MA) of a system of pulleys is equal to the number of supporting strands: in A MA=1 and in B MA=2. pulley, simple machine consisting of a wheel over which a r...

Scripps, Edward Wyllis

(Encyclopedia)Scripps, Edward Wyllis, 1854–1926, American newspaper publisher, b. Rushville, Ill. He began (1873) his career on the staff of the Detroit Evening News, a paper founded and edited by his half-brothe...

Feodor I

(Encyclopedia)Feodor I (Feodor Ivanovich) fyôˈdər, ēväˈnəvĭch [key], 1557–98, czar of Russia (1584–98), son of Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible). Weak and incompetent, he left the government in the hands of h...

laetrile

(Encyclopedia)laetrile lāˈətrĭlˌ [key], name given to the chemical amygdalin, a substance derived from an extract of the kernels of many fruits, notably apricots, bitter almonds, and peaches. The idea that lae...

sewing machine

(Encyclopedia)sewing machine, device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England (1790) with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread ch...

Browse by Subject