Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

White River

(Encyclopedia)White River. 1 River, c.690 mi (1,110 km) long, rising in the Boston Mts., NW Ark., and flowing first N into SW Missouri, then generally SE through NE Arkansas to the Mississippi River. Its chief trib...

Certosa di Pavia

(Encyclopedia)Certosa di Pavia chārtôˈzä dē pävēˈä [key], former Carthusian abbey of Pavia. One of the most magnificent of all monastic structures, it has been maintained as a national monument since 1866....

Black Kettle

(Encyclopedia)Black Kettle, d. 1868, chief of the southern Cheyenne in Colorado. His attempt to make peace (1864) with the white men ended in the massacre of about half his people at Sand Creek. Despite this treach...

credit

(Encyclopedia)credit, granting of goods, services, or money in return for a promise of future payment. Most credit is accompanied by an interest charge, which usually makes the future payment greater than an immedi...

Somme, Battles of the

(Encyclopedia)Somme, Battles of the, two engagements fought during World War I near the Somme River, N France. The first battle (July–Nov., 1916) was an Allied offensive. The British, commanded by Field Marshal S...

Nian Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Nian Rebellion or Nien Rebellion both: nēˈĕn [key], uprising that occurred against the Ch'ing dynasty of China. Bands [Chinese,=nien] of antigovernment rebels in the south part of the North China P...

Nicholas, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas, Saint, patron of children and sailors, of Greece, Sicily, and Russia, and of many other places and persons. Little is known of him, but he is traditionally identified as a 4th-century bishop...

nitrocellulose

(Encyclopedia)nitrocellulose, nitric acid ester of cellulose (a glucose polymer). It is usually formed by the action of a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids on purified cotton or wood pulp. The extent of nitratio...

Mira

(Encyclopedia)Mira mīˈrə [key], [Lat.,=marvelous], variable star in the constellation Cetus; Bayer designation Omicron Ceti; 1992 position R.A. 2h19.0m, Dec. −3°05′. The most famous long-period variable, Mi...

Mosley, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Mosley, Walter, 1952–, African-American author, b. Los Angeles. He was a computer programmer until his first novel, the best-selling mystery Devil in a Blue Dress (1990; film, 1995), was published. ...