Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Geiger counter

(Encyclopedia)Geiger counter or Geiger-Müller (G-M) counter gīˈgər-mŭlˈər, –myo͞oˈlər [key], instrument for the detection and quantitative determination of ionizing radiation such as the alpha and beta ...

Weyden, Roger van der

(Encyclopedia)Weyden, Roger van der vän dər vīˈdən [key], c.1400–1464, major early Flemish master, known also as Roger de la Pasture. He is believed to have studied with Robert Campin. His early works also s...

Origen

(Encyclopedia)Origen ôrˈĭjĭn [key], 185?–254?, Christian philosopher and scholar. His full name was Origines Adamantius, and he was born in Egypt, probably in Alexandria. When he was quite young, his father w...

Jesus (Jesus Christ)

(Encyclopedia)Jesus or Jesus Christ jēˈzəs krīst, jēˈzəz [key], 1st-century Jewish teacher and prophet in whom Christians have traditionally seen the Messiah [Heb.,=annointed one, whence Christ from the Gree...

Nobili, Roberto de

(Encyclopedia)Nobili, Roberto de rōbĕrˈtō dā nōˈbēlē [key], 1577–1656, Italian Jesuit missionary. He was ordained in Rome in 1603 after seven years of training in Naples and sailed the following year for...

Nusaybin

(Encyclopedia)Nusaybin nēˈsĭbēn [key], town (1990 pop. 50,605), SE Turkey, near the Syrian border. It is a commercial and transportation center. It has ruins of the ancient Nisibis, the residence of early (2d c...

Lilly Endowment, Inc.

(Encyclopedia)Lilly Endowment, Inc., institution founded (1937) at Indianapolis, Ind., by pharmaceutical manufacturer Josiah K. Lilly (1861–1948) as a philanthropic foundation for “the promotion and support of ...

millennium

(Encyclopedia)millennium [Lat.,=1,000 years], the period of 1,000 years in which, according to some schools of Christian eschatology, Christ will reign again gloriously on earth. Belief in the millennium, based on ...

Armagh, city, Northern Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Armagh, city, S Northern Ireland. Textiles, chemicals, and processed foods are produced in the city. Armagh (originally Ard Macha) has been the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland since ...

Mattarella, Sergio

(Encyclopedia)Mattarella, Sergio, 1941–, Italian political leader. Born into a prominent Sicilian family, he studied law at the Sapienza Univ. of Rome and taught constitutional law at the Univ. of Palermo. He was...