Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Skelligs, rocky islands, off SW Republic of Ireland, in Co. Kerry, comprising Lemon Rock, Little Skellig, and Great Skellig. Climbing the rocks to the peaks of Great Skellig, also known as Skellig Mic...

(Encyclopedia) Westphalia wĕstfālˈyə [key], Ger. Westfalen, region and former province of Prussia, W Germany. Münster was the capital of the province. After 1945 the province was incorporated into the West Germ...

(Encyclopedia) rabbit, name for herbivorous mammals of the family Leporidae, which also includes the hare and the pika. Rabbits and hares have large front teeth, short tails, and large hind legs and feet adapted for...

(Encyclopedia) Ivan VI, 1740–64, czar of Russia (1740–41), great-grandson of Ivan V. He was the son of Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and of Anna Leopoldovna. An infant, he succeeded his great-a...

(Encyclopedia) Union, Act of. For the union of England and Scotland (1707), see Great Britain; for the union of Ireland (1800) with Great Britain, see Ireland. ...

(Encyclopedia) Shuvalov, Piotr Andreyevich, Count pyôˈtər əndrāˈəvĭch sho͞oväˈləf [key], 1827–89, Russian administrator and diplomat. An adviser to Czar Alexander II, he opposed the czar's reforms and ...

(Encyclopedia) Gelon jēˈlŏn [key], d. 478 b.c., Greek Sicilian ruler. As tyrant of Gela, his native city, he interfered in the struggle for power in Syracuse (485 b.c.) and made himself the leader of the popular ...

(Encyclopedia) Brunel, Sir Marc Isambard ĭzˈəmbärdˌ bro͞onĕlˈ [key], 1769–1849, British engineer and inventor. Born in France, he came to the United States in 1793 as a royalist refugee. He became chief en...

(Encyclopedia) paleomagnetism, study of the intensity and orientation of the earth's magnetic field as preserved in the magnetic orientation of certain minerals found in rocks formed throughout geologic time. Paleom...

(Encyclopedia) Kharkiv khärˈkəf [key], Rus. Kharkov, city (1990 est. pop. 1,600,000), capital of Kharkiv region, E Ukraine, at the confluence of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy rivers in the upper Donets valley. Ukra...