Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Helena, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Helena, Saint hĕlˈənə [key], c.248–328?, mother of Constantine I. She became a Christian in 313. According to tradition she found (327) the relic of the True Cross in Jerusalem and identified th...

thermoplastics

(Encyclopedia)thermoplastics, materials that soften or melt when heated and harden when cooled. Thermoplastic polymers consist of long polymer molecules that are not linked to each other. i.e., have no cross-links....

keratin

(Encyclopedia)keratin kĕrˈətĭn [key], any one of a class of fibrous protein molecules that serve as structural units for various living tissues. The keratins are the major protein components of hair, wool, nail...

Marcus Aurelius

(Encyclopedia)Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus) märˈkəs ôrēˈlēəs [key], 121–180, Roman emperor, named originally Marcus Annius Verus. He was a nephew of Faustina, the wife of Antoninus Pi...

Alexander III, pope

(Encyclopedia)Alexander III, d. 1181, pope (1159–81), a Sienese named Rolandus [Bandinelli?], successor of Adrian IV. He was a canonist who had studied law under Gratian and had taught at Bologna. He came to Rome...

Northern Expedition

(Encyclopedia)Northern Expedition, in modern Chinese history, the military campaign by which the Kuomintang party overthrew the warlord-backed Beijing government and established a new government at Nanjing. At the ...

Seneca, the younger, c.3 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman

(Encyclopedia)Seneca, the younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) lo͞oˈshəs ənēˈəs sĕnˈəkə [key], c.3 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman, b. Corduba (present-day Córdoba), Spain. He was...

Gill, Eric Rowland

(Encyclopedia)Gill, Eric Rowland, 1882–1940, English sculptor, wood engraver, typographer, and writer. His sculpture includes Stations of the Cross (Westminster Cathedral, London); Prospero and Ariel (Broadcastin...

Field, Rachel

(Encyclopedia)Field, Rachel, 1894–1942, American writer, b. New York City, educated at Radcliffe. Her books for children include The Cross-Stitch Heart and Other One-Act Plays (1927), Hitty: Her First Hundred Yea...

Okeechobee Waterway

(Encyclopedia)Okeechobee Waterway or Cross-Florida Waterway, 155 mi (249 km) long, across S Fla., from Stuart on the Atlantic Ocean to Fort Myers on the Gulf of Mexico. Its main segments are the St. Lucie Canal, La...