Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) stimulant, any substance that causes an increase in activity in various parts of the nervous system or directly increases muscle activity. Cerebral, or psychic, stimulants act on the central nervous s...

(Encyclopedia) Home Rule, in Irish and English history, political slogan adopted by Irish nationalists in the 19th cent. to describe their objective of self-government for Ireland. Escalating violence between Prot...

(Encyclopedia) Communist party, in the United States, political party that espoused the Marxist-Leninist principles of communism. In 1945, Browder's policy was attacked as being one of the “right deviationism,�...

(Encyclopedia) Lothair, 941–86, French king (954–86), son and successor of King Louis IV. During the early part of his reign he was dominated by Hugh the Great. Even after Hugh's death he was involved in conflic...

(Encyclopedia) Picard, Jean, 1620–82, French astronomer, noted for having made the first accurate measurement of a degree of the earth's meridian. The figures he established were of great value to Newton in his ca...

(Encyclopedia) Akrotiri āˌkrōtēˈrē [key], Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, or Western Sovereign Base Area, British air force base (2004 est. pop. 6,300), 47 sq mi (123 sq km), located on a peninsula on the SW Cyp...

(Encyclopedia) Independents, in religion, those bodies of Christians who claim freedom from ecclesiastical and civil authority for their individual churches. They hold that each congregation should have control of i...

(Encyclopedia) Cowper, William Cowper, 1st Earl, 1664?–1723, English jurist. He became lord keeper of the great seal in 1705 and in 1706 took a leading part in negotiating the union of England with Scotland. He wa...

(Encyclopedia) Webb, Walter Prescott, 1888–1963, U.S. historian, b. Panola co., Tex. He joined the faculty of the history department at the Univ. of Texas in 1918, received his Ph.D. in 1932, and became full profe...

(Encyclopedia) Pyrrho pĭrˈō [key], c.360–270 b.c., Greek philosopher, a native of Elis, regarded as the father of skepticism. After accompanying Alexander the Great to Asia, he enjoyed great respect at Elis and...