Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Stoppard, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Stoppard, Tom, 1937–, English playwright, b. Zlín, Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic), as Tomas Straussler. During his childhood he and his family moved to Singapore, later (1946) settling ...

Stieglitz, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Stieglitz, Alfred stēgˈlĭts [key], 1864–1946, American photographer, editor, and art exhibitor, b. Hoboken, N.J. The first art photographer in the United States, Stieglitz more than any other Ame...

British Museum

(Encyclopedia)British Museum, the national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and med...

Laval, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Laval, Pierre lävälˈ [key], 1883–1945, French politician. Elected (1914) to the chamber of deputies as a Socialist, he held various cabinet posts and in 1926 became a senator as an Independent, ...

Kedah

(Encyclopedia)Kedah kĕˈdə, kāˈdä [key], state (1991 pop. 1,304,800), 3,660 sq mi (9,479 sq km), central Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, on the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered on the N and NE by Thailand. The cap...

Ming

(Encyclopedia)Ming mĭng [key], dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644. The first Ming emperor, Chu Yüan-chang (ruled 1368–98), a former Buddhist monk, joined a rebellion in progress, gained control of it...

Lima, city, Peru

(Encyclopedia)Lima lēˈmə, Span. lēˈmä [key], city (1990 metropolitan area est. pop. 6,400,000), W Peru, capital and largest city of Peru. Its port is Callao. The Lima urban area is Peru's economic center and ...

Kamchatka

(Encyclopedia)Kamchatka kămchătˈkə [key], peninsula, 104,200 sq mi (269,878 sq km), Kamchatka Territory, Russian Far East, separating the Sea of Okhotsk in the west from the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean in ...

Khwarazm

(Encyclopedia)Khwarazm khərĕzˈəm [key], ancient and medieval state of central Asia, situated in and around the basin of the lower Amu Darya River; now a region, NW Uzbekistan. Khwarazm is one of the oldest cent...

Golden Horde, Empire of the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Khanate of the Golden Horde (c.1300) Golden Horde, Empire of the, Mongol state comprising most of Russia, given as an appanage to Jenghiz Khan's oldest son, Juchi, and actually conquered and f...