Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) biogenetic law, in biology, a law stating that the earlier stages of embryos of species advanced in the evolutionary process, such as humans, resemble the embryos of ancestral species, such as fish. T...

(Encyclopedia) Bamberger, Ludwig lo͞otˈvĭkh bämˈbĕrgər [key], 1823–99, German economist, politician, and journalist. An ardent liberal, he took part in the Revolution of 1848 and was forced to live in exile...

(Encyclopedia) Köpenick köˈpənĭk [key], district of Berlin, E Germany, at the confluence of the Spree and Dahme rivers. It is an industrial center and a tourist spot, with forests and large lakes. Köpenick was...

(Encyclopedia) Sternheim, Carl kärl shtĕrnˈhīm [key], 1878–1943, German dramatist. In his successful comedy Die Hose (1911, tr. A Pair of Drawers, 1927) and in his later works he satirized as corrupt the manne...

(Encyclopedia) Stradella, Alessandro älĕs-sänˈdrō strädĕlˈlä [key], 1642?–1682, Italian composer of operas, cantatas, oratorios, and instrumental music. Few facts but many legends exist concerning his lif...

(Encyclopedia) Strasser, Gregor grāˈgōr shträsˈər [key], 1892–1934, German political leader. A pharmacist, he joined the National Socialist (Nazi) party in its infancy and participated in Adolf Hitler's abor...

(Encyclopedia) Parsifal pärˈsĭfäl [key], figure of Arthurian legend also known as Sir Percivale, who is in turn a later form of a hero of Celtic myth. The name originally occurs as Pryderi, an alternative name o...

(Encyclopedia) Mendelsohn, Erich āˈrĭkh mĕnˈdəlzōn [key], 1887–1953, German architect, pioneer of expressionism. He is best known for his exuberant, sculptural design for the Einstein Tower in Potsdam (1919...

(Encyclopedia) Ingolstadt ĭngˈgôlshtät [key], city, Bavaria, S central Germany, on the Danube River. It is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Jívaro hēˈvärō [key], linguistic stock of Native South Americans in Ecuador. The peoples, N of the Marañón River and E of the Andes, engage in farming, hunting, fishing, and weaving. They have ...