Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

287 results found

Medici, Cosimo de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1389–1464, Italian merchant prince, first of the Medici family to rule Florence. He is often called Cosimo the Elder. After the death ...

nationality

(Encyclopedia)nationality, in political theory, the quality of belonging to a nation, in the sense of a group united by various strong ties. Among the usual ties are membership in the same general community, common...

natural rights

(Encyclopedia)natural rights, political theory that maintains that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights and that no government can deny these rights. The modern idea of natural rights grew ou...

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...

Gallatin, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Gallatin, Albert gălˈətĭn [key], 1761–1849, American financier and public official, b. Geneva, Switzerland. Left an orphan at nine, Gallatin was reared by his patrician relatives and had an exce...

Gao Xingjian

(Encyclopedia)Gao Xingjian gouˈ shĭingˈjyänˈ [key], 1940–, Chinese-French novelist and playwright, b. Ganzhou. He earned (1962) a degree in French in Beijing and embarked upon a literary life, which was cut ...

Kasparov, Garry

(Encyclopedia)Kasparov, Garry kəspärˈôf, –ŏf [key], 1963–, Armenian chess player, b. Azerbaijan (then in the USSR) as Garik Kimovich Wainshtein. He became the world junior champion at the age of 16 and was...

Steiner, George

(Encyclopedia)Steiner, George, 1929–2020, American critic, essayist, novelist, and educator, b. Paris, France, immigrated to the United States 1940, became a U.S. citizen 1944; Ph.D. Oxford, 195). He spoke and wr...

World Court

(Encyclopedia)World Court, popular name of the Permanent Court of International Justice, established pursuant to Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. The protocol establishing it was adopted by the ...

Congress of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Congress of the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines it...