Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Æthelred, 965?–1016, king of England (978–1016), called Æthelred the Unready [Old Eng. unrœd=without counsel]. He was the son of Edgar and the half-brother of Edward the Martyr, whom he succeed...

(Encyclopedia) coronation, ceremony of crowning and anointing a sovereign on his or her accession to the throne. Although a public ceremony inaugurating a new king or chief had long existed, a new religious service ...

(Encyclopedia) Xenakis, Yannis or Iannis yänˈĭs zānäˈkĭs [key], 1922–2001, Greek-French composer, b. Brăila, Romania. Xenakis studied civil engineering in Athens (1940–47) and was active in the anti-Nazi...

(Encyclopedia) horror or horror story, literary genre in which an eerie, tense, often suspenseful atmosphere typically builds to the discovery of something repugnant, such as cannibalism, incest, or the killing of c...

(Encyclopedia) Sichuan or Szechwan sŭˈchwänˈ [key] [four rivers], province (2010 pop. 80,418,200), c.220,000 sq mi (569,800 sq km), SW China. The capital is Chengdu. A naturally isolated region surrounded by mou...

(Encyclopedia) Antananarivo tänänärēvˈ [key], city (2021 metro. area pop. 3,531,887), capital of Madagascar. Antananarivo is Madagascar's largest city and is its administrative, com...

(Encyclopedia) Ozu, Yasujiro, 1903–63, Japanese film director. Ozu began working at a Tokyo studio in 1923, became an assistant director in 1926, and directed his first feature in 1927. He made 35 silent films bef...

(Encyclopedia) Kaesong or Kaisong both: kăˈsŭngˈ [key], Jap. Kaijo, city (1993 pop. 334,433), S North Korea. A long-time commercial center, it is important for its exports of ginseng, a valuable medicinal root. ...

(Encyclopedia) Haryana härēänˈə [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 21,082,989), 17,120 sq mi (44,341 sq km), N central India. Chandigarh is the capital, and Ambala, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak, and Bhiwani are oth...

(Encyclopedia) Kerala kĕrˈələ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 31,838,619), 15,003 sq mi (38,858 sq km), SW India, on the Arabian Sea. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital. A wet tropical climate and coastal low...