Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

374 results found

Local Group

(Encyclopedia)Local Group, in astronomy, loose cluster of at least 40 nearby galaxies, including our own Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. The Local Group is spread over an ellipsoi...

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Merleau-Ponty, Maurice mōrēsˈ mĕrlōˈ-pôNtēˈ [key], 1908–61, French philosopher. He graduated (1931) from the École normale supérieure, Paris, and after World War II taught at the Univ. of...

Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux

(Encyclopedia)Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux, 1884–1951, American filmmaker and author, b. Metropolis, Ill. The son of former slaves, Micheaux first worked as a Pullman porter, then was a homesteader in South Dakota. ...

Moneo, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Moneo, Rafael (José Rafael Moneo), 1937–, Spanish architect, b. Tudela, Navarre. He received undergraduate (1961) and doctoral (1965) degrees from the Madrid School of Architecture, worked (1960–...

Kraków

(Encyclopedia)Kraków krăˈkou, Pol. kräˈko͞of [key], Ger. Krakau, city (1994 est. pop. 751,500), capital of Małopolskie prov., S Poland, on the Vistula. A river port and industrial center, it has varied manuf...

Savigny, Friedrich Karl von

(Encyclopedia)Savigny, Friedrich Karl von frēˈdrĭkh kärl fən säˈvĭnyē [key], 1779–1861, German jurist and legal historian, a founder of the historical school of jurisprudence. He taught (1810–42) Roman...

Ringling Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Ringling Brothers, seven brothers, sons of German-born August Rüngeling, who established an American circus empire. Albert C. (1852–1916), Otto (1858–1911), Alfred T. (1861–1919), Charles Edwar...

Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich

(Encyclopedia)Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich, 1908–79, U.S. public official, governor of New York (1959–73), Vice President of the United States (1974–77), b. Bar Harbor, Maine; grandson of John D. Rockefeller. ...

Scott, Sir George Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Scott, Sir George Gilbert, 1811–78, English architect. Prominent in the Gothic revival, he designed many public structures. He also directed a vast amount of Gothic restoration work, beginning with ...

Crab Nebula

(Encyclopedia)Crab Nebula, diffuse gaseous nebula in the constellation Taurus; cataloged as NGC 1952 and M1, the first object recorded in Charles Messier's catalog of nonstellar objects (see Messier catalog). It is...