Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Miller, William, 1782–1849, American sectarian leader, b. Pittsfield, Mass. He was the founder of the sect of Second Adventists, sometimes called Millerites. In 1831, convinced from study of the Bib...

(Encyclopedia) Urgench o͝orgyĕnchˈ [key], ancient city of central Asia, on the site of present-day Kunya-Urgench (Köhne Ürgenç), in Turkmenistan. It lies c.85 mi (140 km) NW of modern Urganch, Uzbekistan. A ma...

(Encyclopedia) Hopper, Edward, 1882–1967, American painter and engraver, b. Nyack, N.Y., studied in New York City with Robert Henri and other Ashcan School painters. Hopper lived in France for a year but was littl...

(Encyclopedia) New General Catalog (NGC), standard reference list of nebulae (see nebula). It is based on the General Catalog, published in 1864, which included 2,500 nebulae cataloged by William Herschel and an add...

(Encyclopedia) Fish, family long prominent in New York politics. Nicholas Fish, 1758–1833, b. New York City. He studied law before serving ably as a major in a New York regiment throughout the American Revolution....

(Encyclopedia) New Hampshire chicken, dual-purpose breed of poultry that is no longer grown commercially. It is retained for its genetic input into modern breeding programs. ...

(Encyclopedia) Hegira or Hejira both: hĭjīˈrə, hĕjˈərə [key] [Ar.,=Hijra=breaking off of relations], the departure of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca in Sept., 622. Muhammad was a monotheist and preached aga...

(Encyclopedia) Swithin or Swithun, Saint both: swĭᵺˈən [key], fl. 860, English bishop of Winchester. He was buried, according to his wishes, outside his church, but his relics were later removed to the new cath...

(Encyclopedia) Beach, Moses Yale, 1800–1868, American journalist, b. Wallingford, Conn. As a young man he invented a rag-cutting machine and a gunpowder engine. In 1838 he bought the New York Sun from his brother-...

(Encyclopedia) New Guinea, Territory of: see Papua New Guinea. ...