Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Law, William, 1686–1761, English clergyman, noted for his controversial, devotional, and mystical writings. One of the nonjurors, Law was deprived of his fellowship in Emmanuel College, Cambridge, a...

(Encyclopedia) Pérez Rodríguez, Carlos Andrés kärˈlōs ändrāsˈ pāˈrās rôdrēˈgās [key], 1922–2010, president of Venezuela (1974–78, 1989–93). An aide to President Rómulo Betancourt, he was secre...

(Encyclopedia) petal, one of the four basic parts of a flower, next innermost organ from the sepal. The whorl of petals is known collectively as the corolla [Lat.,=little crown]. The number of petals is usually cons...

(Encyclopedia) echo, reflection of a sound wave back to its source in sufficient strength and with a sufficient time lag to be separately distinguished. If a sound wave returns within 1⁄10 sec, the human ear is in...

(Encyclopedia) Bouterse, Désiré Delano, 1945–, Surinamese military and political leader, president of Suriname (2010–20). He received military training in the Netherlands and was stationed at a German military...

(Encyclopedia) Boutwell, George Sewall so͞oˈəl boutˈwəl, –wĕl [key], 1818–1905, American politician, b. Brookline, Mass. He served seven terms in the Massachusetts legislature between 1842 and 1851, was el...

(Encyclopedia) Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), former U.S. government agency established (1933) in the Dept. of Agriculture under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 as part of Franklin Delano Roos...

(Encyclopedia) fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the altern...

(Encyclopedia) Formulas for Various Areas 1 The abbreviations used are: b = base (length of any side of a plane figure); a = altitude (perpendicular distance from the farthest point of the figure to t...

(Encyclopedia) anointing of the sick, sacrament of the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church, formerly known as extreme unction. In it a sick or dying person is anointed on eyes, ears, nostrils, lips...