Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

409 results found

Thíra

(Encyclopedia)Thíra or Thera both: thērˈə [key], volcanic island (1991 pop. 9,360), c.30 sq mi (80 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades, Thíra is also known as Santorini, for St. Irene, th...

Schliemann, Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Schliemann, Heinrich hīnˈrĭkh shlēˈmän [key], 1822–90, German archaeologist, discoverer of the ruins of Troy. He accumulated a fortune in the indigo trade and as a military contractor and reti...

Arabs

(Encyclopedia)Arabs, name originally applied to the Semitic peoples of the Arabian Peninsula. It now refers to those persons whose primary language is Arabic. They constitute most of the population of Algeria, Bahr...

furniture

(Encyclopedia)furniture, properly such movables as chairs, tables, and beds; it is extended to include draperies, rugs, mirrors, lamps, and other furnishings. In its gradual evolution from periods of earliest civil...

Gioberti, Vincenzo

(Encyclopedia)Gioberti, Vincenzo vēnchānˈtsō jōbĕrˈtē [key], 1801–52, Italian philosopher and political writer, b. Turin. Ordained (1825) a priest, he went into exile (1833–48) in Paris and Brussels bec...

Jacobs, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Jacobs, Joseph, 1854–1916, Jewish writer, historian, and folklorist, b. Australia. He lived in England until 1900, when he went to the United States to edit a revision of The Jewish Encyclopedia. He...

Atlantis

(Encyclopedia)Atlantis ətlăntĭs, ăt– [key], in Greek legend, large island in the western sea (the Atlantic Ocean). Plato, in his dialogues the Timaeus and the Critias, tells of the high civilization that flou...

Maspero, Gaston Camille Charles

(Encyclopedia)Maspero, Sir Gaston Camille Charles gästôNˈ kämēˈyə shärl mäspərōˈ [key], 1846–1916, French Egyptologist. He taught at the Collège de France and was director of archaeology in Egypt, wh...

Larkana

(Encyclopedia)Larkana lärkäˈnə [key], city (1998 pop. 270,366), S central Pakistan, on the Ghar canal. Famous for the quality of its rice, it is an important grain market and a trading center for silk and cotto...

Latin America

(Encyclopedia)Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Arge...