Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Autolycus, Greek astronomer and mathematician

(Encyclopedia)Autolycus ôtŏlˈĭkəs [key], fl. 4th cent. b.c., astronomer and mathematician of Pitane in Aeolis. Of his two extant works, that on the revolving sphere is said to be the oldest completely preserve...

Paraguay, river, Brazil and Paraguay

(Encyclopedia)Paraguay, river, c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) long, rising in the highlands of central Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Flowing generally southward, it forms the border between Brazil and Paraguay in the pantanal,...

Owl and the Nightingale, The

(Encyclopedia)Owl and the Nightingale, The, Middle English poem written probably by Nicholas de Guildford of Dorsetshire about the beginning of the 13th cent. Written in 2,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets, it des...

Oise, river, Belgium and France

(Encyclopedia)Oise, river, 186 mi (299 km) long, rising in the Ardennes Mts., S Belgium, and flowing through N France generally SW past Compiègne to join the Seine River near Pontoise. Navigable for most of its le...

Warwick, town and district, England

(Encyclopedia)Warwick, town (1991 pop. 21,701) and district, county seat of Warwickshire, central England, on the Avon River. The town has some commerce and manufacturing. Warwick is best known for Warwick Castle, ...

will, in philosophy and psychology

(Encyclopedia)will, in philosophy and psychology, term used to describe that which is alleged to stimulate the motivation of purposeful activity. It is characteristic of the will that it can be observed only in one...

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

(Encyclopedia)William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, philanthropic organization founded in 1966 by engineer and entrepeneur William R. Hewlett (1913–2001), co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, his wife, Flora Lamson Hew...

Castle, Vernon, and Irene Foote

(Encyclopedia)Castle, Vernon (Vernon Castle Blythe) 1887–1918, and Irene Foote, 1893–1969, husband-and-wife dance team. Vernon Castle was an English dancer, who studied civil engineering before turning to the s...

Browse by Subject