Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bond

(Encyclopedia)bond, in finance, usually a formal certificate of indebtedness issued in writing by governments or business corporations in return for loans. It bears interest and promises to pay a certain sum of mon...

Berkeley, George

(Encyclopedia)Berkeley, George bärˈklē, bûr– [key], 1685–1753, Anglo-Irish philosopher and clergyman, b. Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he became a scholar and later a fellow th...

Sherman, John

(Encyclopedia)Sherman, John, 1823–1900, American statesman, b. Lancaster, Ohio; brother of William Tecumseh Sherman. He studied law, was admitted (1844) to the bar, and practiced law several years in Mansfield, O...

protocol

(Encyclopedia)protocol prōˈtəkŏl [key], term referring to rules governing diplomatic conduct or to a variety of written instruments. Examples of the latter are authenticated minutes of international conferences...

Petraeus, David Howell

(Encyclopedia)Petraeus, David Howell pĕtrāˈəs [key], 1952–, American military officer and government official, b. Cornwall, N.Y., studied West Point (B.S., 1974), U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (...

Lowry, L. S.

(Encyclopedia)Lowry, L. S. (Laurence Stephen Lowry), 1887–1976, English painter and printmaker, b. Manchester, studied Municipal College of Art (later Manchester Metropolitan Univ.). He is especially known for re...

Zen Buddhism

(Encyclopedia)Zen Buddhism, Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation]. In China the school early became known for making its centra...

Houston Symphony

(Encyclopedia)Houston Symphony. Founded in 1913 with 33 players, the orchestra reorganized in 1930 and presented its first full season of concerts in 1931. Among its important conductors have been Ernst Hoffmann (1...

Hoppner, John

(Encyclopedia)Hoppner, John, 1758–1810, English portrait painter. He was a protégé of George III, whose illegitimate son he was rumored to be. He imitated, without total success, the style of Sir Joshua Reynold...

Browse by Subject