Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hegira

(Encyclopedia)Hegira or Hejira both: hĭjīˈrə, hĕjˈərə [key] [Ar.,=Hijra=breaking off of relations], the departure of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca in Sept., 622. Muhammad was a monotheist and preached aga...

Sung Chiao-jen

(Encyclopedia)Sung Chiao-jen so͝ong jyou-jŭn [key], 1882–1913, Chinese revolutionary and political leader. He was a founding member (1905) and a leading activist in the Revolutionary Alliance (see Sun Yat-sen),...

cycle

(Encyclopedia)cycle, in astronomy, period of time required for the recurrence of some celestial event. The length of a cycle may be measured relative to the sun or to the fixed stars (see sidereal time). A frequent...

Abinader Corona, Luis Rodolfo

(Encyclopedia)Abinader Corona, Luis Rodolfo, 1967–, Dominican political leader. After studying at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo, Harvard, and Dartmouth, he went into the family hotel business, the ...

Selim III

(Encyclopedia)Selim III, 1761–1808, Ottoman sultan (1789–1807), nephew and successor of Abd al-Hamid I to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He suffered severe defeats in the second of the Russo-Turkish...

Sieyès, Emmanuel Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Sieyès, Emmanuel Joseph ĕmänüĕlˈ zhôzĕfˈ syāĕsˈ [key], 1748–1836, French revolutionary and statesman. He was a clergyman before the Revolution and was known as Abbé Sieyès. His pamphle...

Gregoras, Nicephorus

(Encyclopedia)Gregoras, Nicephorus nīsĕfˈərəs grĕgˈərəs [key], c.1295–c.1359, Byzantine historian and theologian, one of the most learned men of his time. Among his scientific and philosophical works is ...

Force, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Force, Peter, 1790–1868, American journalist and historian, b. near Paterson, N.J. He served in the War of 1812 and afterward established himself in Washington, D.C., as a printer. Entering local po...

Harvey, Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Harvey, Gabriel, 1545?–1630?, English author. He studied at Cambridge and became a fellow of Pembroke Hall. There he became friends with Edmund Spenser, who later celebrated Harvey as Hobbinol in Th...

Willet, Marinus

(Encyclopedia)Willet, Marinus mərēˈnəs wĭlˈĭt [key], 1740–1830, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Jamaica, N.Y. In the French and Indian War he was (1758) a member of the expeditions against Fort Ticonder...