Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Keble, John kēˈbəl [key], 1792–1866, English clergyman and poet. His career (1807–11) at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was one of unusual distinction. Made fellow of Oriel College in 1811 and...

(Encyclopedia) Dana, Charles Anderson dāˈnə [key], 1819–97, American newspaper editor, b. Hinsdale, N.H. He was a member of the Brook Farm community for five years. In 1847 he began 15 years on the New York Tri...

(Encyclopedia) Capricornus kăprĭkôrˈnəs [key] [Lat.,=the goat horn], inconspicuous southern constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Sagittarius and Aquarius; it...

(Encyclopedia) chemosynthesis, process in which carbohydrates are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water using chemical nutrients as the energy source, rather than the sunlight used for energy in photosynthesis....

(Encyclopedia) Crichton, Michael krīˈtən [key], 1942–2008, American novelist, screenwriter, and director, b. Chicago, grad. Harvard Medical School (1969). He wrote several thrillers under a pseudonym while a st...

(Encyclopedia) fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...

(Encyclopedia) fog, aggregation of water droplets or ice crystals immediately above the surface of the earth (i.e., a cloud near the ground). A light or thin fog is usually called a mist. Fog may occur when the mois...

(Encyclopedia) Heliogabalus ĕləgăbˈələs [key], c.205–222, Roman emperor (218–22). He was a priest of the local sun god, Elagabalus, at Emesa and was named Varius Avitus Bassianus. He was a cousin of Caraca...

(Encyclopedia) Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

(Encyclopedia) Rust Belt or Rustbelt, economic region in the NE quadrant of the United States, focused on the Midwestern (see Midwest) states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as Pennsylvania. The te...