Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Monroe, James, 1758–1831, 5th President of the United States (1817–25), b. Westmoreland co., Va. In 1816 Monroe obtained the presidential nomination and was easily elected. During his first admi...

(Encyclopedia) Early Christian art and architecture, works of art exhibiting Christian themes and structures designed for Christian worship created relatively soon after the death of Jesus. Most date from the 4th to...

(Encyclopedia) Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

(Encyclopedia) Vanuatu vänˌwäto͞oˈ [key], officially Republic of Vanuatu, independent republic (2015 est. pop. 265,000), c.5,700 sq mi (14,760 sq km), South Pacific, E of Australia. Vanuatu is a 450-mi (724-km)...

(Encyclopedia) de Gaulle, Charles shärl də gōl [key], 1890–1970, French general and statesman, first president (1959–69) of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle was reelected to a second seven-year term in 1965. A...

(Encyclopedia) Northwest Passage, water routes through the Arctic Archipelago, N Canada, and along the northern coast of Alaska between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Even though the explorers of the 16th cent. de...

(Encyclopedia) Portsmouth. 1 City (1990 pop. 25,925), Rockingham co., SE N.H., a port of entry with a good harbor and a state-owned port terminal at the mouth of the Piscataqua River opposite Kittery, Maine; inc. 16...

(Encyclopedia) airship, an aircraft that consists of a cigar-shaped gas bag, or envelope, filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide lift, a propulsion system, a steering mechanism, and a gondola accommodating pa...

(Encyclopedia) Jacobites jăkˈəbītsˌ [key], adherents of the exiled branch of the house of Stuart who sought to restore James II and his descendants to the English and Scottish thrones after the Glorious Revolut...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Cross section of heart, with arrows indicating direction of blood flow heart, muscular organ that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The rhythmic beating of the heart is a ceaseless activit...