Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sea, law of the

(Encyclopedia)sea, law of the, international agreement regulating the use and exploitation of the world's oceans. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) calls for limited, and strictly controlled, mining of...

precession of the equinoxes

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Precession of the equinoxes (the points at which the earth's celestial equator intersects its ecliptic) is due to the slow rotation of the earth's axis around a perpendicular to the ecliptic. ...

press, freedom of the

(Encyclopedia)press, freedom of the, liberty to print or to otherwise disseminate information, as in print, by broadcasting, or through electronic media, without prior restraints such as licensing requirements or c...

Philippines, University of the

(Encyclopedia)Philippines, University of the, main campus at Quezon City, the Philippines; English language; founded 1908. Among its many schools and colleges are those of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, veterina...

Acts of the Apostles

(Encyclopedia)Acts of the Apostles, book of the New Testament. It is the only 1st-century account of the expansion of Christianity in its earliest period. It was written in Greek anonymously as early as c.a.d. 65, ...

patriarch, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)patriarch pāˈtrēärk [key], in biblical tradition, one of the antediluvian progenitors of the race as given in Genesis (e.g., Seth) or one of the ancestors of the Jews (e.g., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,...

Salem, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Salem sāˈləm [key] [Heb.,=peace], in the Bible, royal city of Melchizedek, traditionally identified with Jerusalem. ...

Salmon, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Salmon sălˈmŏn [key], in the Bible. 1 Father of Boaz. An alternate form is Salma. 2 Place, probably the same as Zalmon. ...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

Browse by Subject