Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Schlegel, Friedrich von fən shlāˈgəl [key], 1772–1829, German philosopher, critic, and writer, most prominent of the founders of German romanticism. Educated in law at Göttingen and Leipzig, h...

(Encyclopedia) Kruger, Paul (Stephanas Johannes Paulus) kro͞oˈgər, Afrikaans stāfäˈnəs yōhäˈnəs pouˈləs krüˈgər [key], 1825–1904, South African Transvaal statesman, known as Oom Paul. As a child he...

(Encyclopedia) cerium sērˈēəm [key] [from the asteroid Ceres], metallic chemical element; symbol Ce; at. no. 58; at. wt. 140.116; m.p. 799℃; b.p. 3,426℃; sp. gr. 6.77 at 25℃; valence +3 or +4. Cerium is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Troy, ancient city made famous by Homer's account of the Trojan War. It is also called Ilion or, in Latin, Ilium. Its site is almost universally accepted as the mound now named Hissarlik, in Asian Tur...

(Encyclopedia) Mainz mīnts [key], city (1994 pop. 185,487), capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, a port on the E bank of the Rhine River opposite the mouth of the Main River. Its French name, also sometimes ...

(Encyclopedia) Erasmus dĕsĭdērˈēəs [key] [Gr. Erasmus, his given name, and Lat., Desiderius=beloved; both are regarded as the equivalent of Dutch Gerard, Erasmus' father's name], 1466?–1536, Dutch humanist, ...

(Encyclopedia) Schliemann, Heinrich hīnˈrĭkh shlēˈmän [key], 1822–90, German archaeologist, discoverer of the ruins of Troy. He accumulated a fortune in the indigo trade and as a military contractor and reti...

(Encyclopedia) Planck, Max mäks plängk [key], 1858–1947, German physicist. Seeking to explain the experimental spectrum (distribution of electromagnetic energy according to wavelength) of blackbody radiation, he...

(Encyclopedia) intelligence, in psychology, the general mental ability involved in calculating, reasoning, perceiving relationships and analogies, learning quickly, storing and retrieving information, using language...

(Encyclopedia) covenant kŭvˈənənt [key], agreement entered into voluntarily by two or more parties to do or refrain from doing certain acts. In the Bible and in theology the covenant is the agreement or engageme...