Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) regicides rĕjˈĭsīdz [key] [Lat., =king-killers], in English history, name given to those judges and court officers responsible for the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649. After the Restorati...

(Encyclopedia) Agassiz, Alexander ăgˈəsē [key], 1835–1910, American naturalist and industrialist, b. Neuchâtel, Switzerland; son of Louis Agassiz, stepson of Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. He came to the United Stat...

(Encyclopedia) German language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). It is the official language of Germany and Austria and i...

(Encyclopedia) neutrality, in international law, status of a nation that refrains from participation in a war between other states and maintains an impartial attitude toward the belligerents. Neutrality is not to be...

(Encyclopedia) European Southern Observatory (ESO), an intergovernmental organization for astronomical research with headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. The ESO began in 1962 as a consortium among Belgiu...

(Encyclopedia) Brissot de Warville, Jacques Pierre zhäk pyĕr brēsōˈ də värvēlˈ [key], 1754–93, French revolutionary and journalist. He began his career by writing numerous pamphlets and books. His Théori...

(Encyclopedia) Columban, Saint kəlŭmˈbən [key], c.540–615, Irish missionary to the continent of Europe, also called Columbanus. He was trained in the abbey at Bangor. He and 12 companions, including St. Gall, ...

(Encyclopedia) Khan, Ali Akbar älēˈ ăkˈbär khän [key], 1922–2009, Indian musician, b. Shivpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh). A master of the sarod, a lutelike 25-stringed N Indian instrument, Khan was born ...

(Encyclopedia) Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), organization whose stated mission is “to empower women and girls and to eliminate racism.” The movement is nondenominational. It grew out of the homes f...

(Encyclopedia) Vermigli, Pietro Martire pyĕˈtrō märtēˈrā vārmēˈlyē [key], 1500–1562, Italian Protestant reformer, also known as Peter Martyr. He joined the Augustinian canons and in that order received ...