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Pleistocene epoch

(Encyclopedia)Pleistocene epoch plīˈstəsēn [key], 6th epoch of the Cenozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table). According to a classification that considered its depos...

French art

(Encyclopedia)French art, the artistic production of the region that constitutes the historic nation of France. See also French architecture. The innovations of postimpressionism, combined with the influence of C...

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(Encyclopedia)North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established under the North Atlantic Treaty (Apr. 4, 1949) by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, N...

observatory

(Encyclopedia)observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally ap...

magic, in entertainment

(Encyclopedia)magic, in entertainment, the seeming manipulation and supernatural control of the natural world for the amusement and amazement of an audience. Entertainment magic can be divided into four main catego...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

colonization

(Encyclopedia)colonization, extension of political and economic control over an area by a state whose nationals have occupied the area and usually possess organizational or technological superiority over the native...

organ

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Organ organ, a musical wind instrument in which sound is produced by one or more sets of pipes controlled by a keyboard, each pipe producing only one pitch by means of a mechanically produced ...

painting

(Encyclopedia)painting, direct application of pigment to a surface to produce by tones of color or of light and dark some representation or decorative arrangement of natural or imagined forms. See also articles on ...

Douglas, Stephen Arnold

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813–61, American statesman, b. Brandon, Vt. The Democratic national convention at Charleston, S.C., in 1860 adopted Douglas's recommendations in a platform advocating non...