Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Grey of Fallodon, Edward Grey, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Grey of Fallodon, Edward Grey, 1st Viscount fălˈədən [key], 1862–1933, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1885 and became (1905) foreign secretary in the difficult period p...

Pan-Slavism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Slavism, theory and movement intended to promote the political or cultural unity of all Slavs. Advocated by various individuals from the 17th cent., it developed as an intellectual and cultural mo...

conscription

(Encyclopedia)conscription, compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japa...

bin Laden, Osama

(Encyclopedia)bin Laden, Osama or Usama ōsäˈmə bĭn lädˈən, ŭsäˈmə [key], 1957?–2011, Saudi-born leader of Al Qaeda, a terrorist organization devoted to uniting all Muslims and establishing a transnati...

Arias, Arnulfo

(Encyclopedia)Arias, Arnulfo ärno͞olˈfō ärˈyäs [key], 1901–88, president of Panama (1940–41, 1949–51, Oct., 1968). A Harvard-trained physician, he led the coup that deposed President Florencio Harmodio...

Mekas, Jonas

(Encyclopedia)Mekas, Jonas, 1922–2019, Lithuanian-American avant-garde filmmaker, critic, and journalist. During and after World War II, he and his younger brother, Adolfus, were interned in labor and displaced-p...

Mecklenburg–West Pomerania

(Encyclopedia)Mecklenburg–West Pomerania mĕkˈlənbo͝orkh pämərāˈnēə [key], state (1994 pop. 1,890,000), 9,201 sq mi (23,838 sq km), NE Germany, bordering on the Baltic Sea. Schwerin is the capital. The r...

Tallinn

(Encyclopedia)Tallinn täˈlĭn [key], Ger. Reval, city (1994 pop. 442,679), capital of Estonia, on the Gulf of Finland, opposite Helsinki. It is a major Baltic port, a rail and highway junction, and an industrial ...

Stone, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Stone, Oliver, 1946–, American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer, b. New York City, studied filmmaking with Martin Scorsese at New York Univ. (B.F.A., 1971). Stone enlisted (1967) in the army an...

Lofting, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Lofting, Hugh, 1886–1947, American writer of juvenile stories, b. Maidenhead, England. He settled in the United States in 1912. His famous “Dr. Dolittle” stories, which concern an extraordinary ...