Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) harp seal, crested earless, or true, seal, Phoca groenlandica, found in the N Atlantic around Greenland and the White Sea. In the spring, harp seals migrate southward to assemble in large groups to br...

(Encyclopedia) kookaburra ko͝okˈəbûrˌə [key], common name for a squat, long-tailed Australian kingfisher, Dacelo novaeguineae. It is one of the largest birds of the family Alcedinidae (kingfisher family). Beca...

(Encyclopedia) rotavirus, double-stranded RNA virus, genus Rotavirus, with a wheellike appearance that can cause severe watery diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes leading to severe dehydration and death. The virus is t...

(Encyclopedia) Anna ănˈə [key], [Gr.,=Heb. Hannah], in the Bible. 1 Aged prophetess who hailed Jesus' presentation at the Temple. 2 In the Book of Tobit, the mother of young Tobias. ...

(Encyclopedia) Tyrwhitt, Thomas tĭrˈĭt [key], 1730–86, English scholar. He was noted for his studies of Shakespeare (1766) and for his edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (5 vol., 1775–78). Tyrwhitt reveale...

(Encyclopedia) Endymion ĕndĭmˈēən [key], in Greek mythology, young shepherd, loved by Selene (the moon). In one version of his legend, he asked Zeus for immortality and perpetual youth. Zeus consented on the co...

(Encyclopedia) Baldwin, James, 1924–87, American author, b. New York City. He spent an impoverished boyhood in Harlem, became a Pentecostal preacher at 14, and left the church three years later. He moved to Paris ...

(Encyclopedia) Mills College, at Oakland, Calif.; for women; est. 1852 as the Young Ladies' Seminary at Benicia, Calif., moved 1871, chartered as Mills College 1885. The first women's college in the Far West, it has...

(Encyclopedia) Opie, John, 1761–1807, English portrait and historical painter. Opie showed a remarkable talent as a young man. He became the protégé of the poet John Wolcot, and enjoyed a brief popularity as a f...

(Encyclopedia) Acontius əkŏnˈshəs [key], in Greek mythology, young man who loved Cydippe. He met her at a festival of Artemis and threw before her an apple inscribed, “I swear by the temple of Artemis to marry...