Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Klein, Christian Felix klīn [key], 1849–1925, German mathematician. He is noted for his work in geometry and on the theory of functions. His Erlangen program (1872) for unifying the diverse forms ...

(Encyclopedia) Armagh, city, S Northern Ireland. Textiles, chemicals, and processed foods are produced in the city. Armagh (originally Ard Macha) has been the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland since ...

(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) Palm Sunday, in the Christian calendar, the Sunday before Easter, sixth and last Sunday in Lent, and the first day of Holy Week. It recalls the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding upon an ass, when h...

(Encyclopedia) Rakovsky, Christian Georgyevich khrĭstyänˈ gēyŏrˈgyĭvĭch rəkôfˈskē [key], 1873–1938, Soviet Communist diplomat. His early revolutionary activities extended from his native Bulgaria throu...

(Encyclopedia) Rauch, Christian Daniel krĭsˈtyän däˈnyĕl roukh [key], 1777–1857, German sculptor. After studying in Rome (1804–11 and again later), where his work was influenced by Thorvaldsen, he achieved...

(Encyclopedia) Grabbe, Christian Dietrich krĭsˈtēän dēˈtrĭkh gräbˈə [key], 1801–36, German dramatist and journalist. Critical of “Shakespearomania,” Grabbe strove for a national German drama and wrot...

(Encyclopedia) Gellert, Christian Fürchtegott krĭsˈtyän fürkhˈtəgôt gĕlˈərt [key], 1715–69, German poet and moralist. His best-known works are Fabeln und Erzählungen (1746–48, tr. Fables and Other Po...

(Encyclopedia) Christian Reformed Church, denomination formed after the secession of a group from the Reformed Church in America in 1857. Colonists from Holland who began settling in Michigan in 1846 generally becam...

(Encyclopedia) Advent [Lat.,=coming], season of the Christian ecclesiastical year preceding Christmas, lasting in the West from the Sunday nearest Nov. 30 (St. Andrew's Day) until Christmas Eve. In the Roman Catholi...