Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) stove, device used for heating or for cooking food. The stove was long regarded as a cooking device supplementary to the fireplace, near which it stood; its stovepipe led into the fireplace chimney. I...

(Encyclopedia) pencil, pointed implement used in writing or drawing to apply graphite or a similar colored solid to any surface, especially paper. From prehistoric times lumps of colored earth or chalk were used as ...

(Encyclopedia) Fuzhou fo͞oˈchouˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 952,300), capital of Fujian prov., China, a port on the Min River delta c.25 mi (40 km) from the coast. A regional commercial and fishing center that u...

(Encyclopedia) Rogers, John, 1829–1904, American sculptor, b. Salem, Mass. Trained as an engineer, he was forced by failing eyesight to work as a machinist. He began modeling in clay as a pastime and studied sculp...

(Encyclopedia) Xi'an shēˈänˈ, sēˈ– [key], city (1994 est. pop. 2,114,900), capital of Shaanxi prov., China, in the Wei River valley. Situated on the Longhai RR, China's principal east-west line, it is an imp...

(Encyclopedia) silt, predominantly quartz mineral particles that are between sand size and clay size, i.e., between 1⁄16 and 1⁄256 mm (1⁄406 –1⁄6502 in.) in diameter. Silt, like clay and sand, is a product...

(Encyclopedia) Frelinghuysen, Theodore, 1787–1862, American politician and educator, b. Franklin, N.J. Admitted to the bar in 1808, he practiced law in Newark and soon gained political prominence. As U.S. senator ...

(Encyclopedia) golem gōˈləm [key] [Heb.,=an undeveloped lump], in medieval Jewish legend, an automatonlike servant made of clay and given life by means of a charm, or shem [Heb.,=name, or the name of God]. Golems...

(Encyclopedia) Crittenden, John Jordan, 1787–1863, U.S. public official, b. Woodford co., Ky. A Kentucky legislator (1811–17), Crittenden entered the U.S. Senate (1817–19) but resigned to resume state offices....

(Encyclopedia) Whig party, one of the two major political parties of the United States in the second quarter of the 19th cent. By the time Fillmore had succeeded to the presidency, the disintegration of the party ...