Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Jouvenet, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ zho͞ovənāˈ [key], 1644–1717, French painter, one of a family of painters. He worked in Paris in the studio of Charles Le Brun, whose manner he acquired a...

(Encyclopedia) Kinderhook kĭnˈdərho͝okˌ [key], village (1990 pop. 1,293), Columbia co., SE N.Y.; settled before the Revolution, inc. 1838. Richard Upjohn designed St. Paul's Church (1851) there. President Marti...

(Encyclopedia) Synge, Richard Laurence Millington, 1914–94, British biochemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1941. Synge was a researcher at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, London, from 1943 to 1948 and at the Ro...

(Encyclopedia) Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus) vēnănˈshəs fôrˌtyo͞onāˈtəs [key], d. c.600, Latin poet, b. near Treviso, Italy. A priest in Gaul and later bishop of ...

(Encyclopedia) Amsdorf, Nikolaus von nēˈkōlous fən ämsˈdôrf [key], 1483–1565, German Protestant reformer. He became a devoted supporter of Martin Luther. Elector John Frederick I of Saxony appointed Amsdorf...

(Encyclopedia) lacquer, solution of film-forming materials, natural or synthetic, usually applied as an ornamental or protective coating. Quick-drying synthetic lacquers are used to coat automobiles, furniture, text...

(Encyclopedia) holiday [altered from holy day], day set aside for the commemoration of an important event. Holidays are often accompanied by public ceremonies, such as parades and carnivals, and by religious observa...

(Encyclopedia) Netherlands Antilles, former autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of several islands in the West Indies. Earlier known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, ...

(Encyclopedia) Albany Regency, name given, after 1820, to the leaders of the first political machine, which was developed in New York state by Martin Van Buren. The name derived from the charge that Van Buren's prin...

(Encyclopedia) zirconium zərkōˈnēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Zr; at. no. 40; at. wt. 91.224; m.p. about 1,852℃; b.p. 4,377℃; sp. gr. 6.5 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, or +4. Zirconium is a very ...