Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bank of the United States, name for two national banks established by the U.S. Congress to serve as government fiscal agents and as depositories for federal funds; the first bank was in existence from...

(Encyclopedia) mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

(Encyclopedia) Flanders flănˈdərz [key], former county in the Low Countries, extending along the North Sea and W of the Scheldt (Escaut) River. It is divided among East Flanders and West Flanders provs., Belgium;...

(Encyclopedia) Renaissance art and architecture, works of art and structures produced in Europe during the Renaissance. In England the Renaissance flowered in the middle of the 16th cent. The Elizabethan style an...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Compound microscope microscope, optical instrument used to increase the apparent size of an object. The electron microscope, which is not limited by the powers of optical lenses and light,...

(Encyclopedia) Keats, John, 1795–1821, English poet, b. London. He is considered one of the greatest of English poets. The son of a livery stable keeper, Keats attended school at Enfield, where he became the frien...

(Encyclopedia) New York Philharmonic, dating from 1842, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. The orchestra as it now exists is the result of the merger of the Philharmonic Society of New York with the...

(Encyclopedia) Independent Treasury System, in U.S. history, system for the retaining of government funds in the Treasury and its subtreasuries independently of the national banking and financial systems. In one for...

(Encyclopedia) Bauhaus bouˈhous [key], artists' collective and school of art and architecture in Germany (1919–33). The Bauhaus revolutionized art training by combining the teaching of classic arts with the study...

(Encyclopedia) Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich ēˈgər fyôˈdərôˌvyĭch strəvĭnˈskē [key], 1882–1971, Russian-American composer. Considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th cent., ...