Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) modern art, art created from the 19th cent. to the mid-20th cent. by artists who veered away from the traditional concepts and techniques of painting, sculpture, and other fine arts that had been prac...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Australia ôstrālˈyə [key], smallest continent, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the continent makes up th...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Antarctica ăntärkˈtĭkə, –ärˈtĭkə [key], the fifth largest continent, c.5,500,000 sq mi (14,245,000 sq km), asymmetrically centered on the South Pole and almost entirely within the An...

(Encyclopedia) Republican party, American political party. In 1980, the conservative Ronald Reagan, a former supporter of Barry Goldwater, regained the presidency for the Republicans and reversed long-standi...

(Encyclopedia) English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. For the...

(Encyclopedia) Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Roman Empire (a.d. 117) CE5 Rome, Ital. Roma, city (1991 pop. 2,775,250), capital of Italy and see of the pope, whose residence, Vatican City, is a sovereign state within the city of Rome. R...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 France frăns, Fr. fräNs [key], officially French Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 64,457,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the At...