Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ishii, Kikujiro kēˌko͞oˌjērōˈĭshēˈ [key], 1865–1945, Japanese career diplomat. He entered the foreign ministry after graduating from Tokyo Univ. with a degree in English law. In 1907–8 h...

(Encyclopedia) family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functio...

(Encyclopedia) United Irishmen or United Irish Society, Irish political organization. It was founded at Belfast in 1791 by Theobald Wolfe Tone. Disgruntled by the use of English patronage to control Irish politics, ...

(Encyclopedia) cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees, several yielding valuable timber. The major genera are Juniperus (juniper), Thuja (arb...

(Encyclopedia) Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of, 1848, peace treaty between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican War. Negotiations were carried on for the United States by Nicholas P. Trist. The treaty wa...

(Encyclopedia) Fort Henry, Confederate fortification on the Tennessee River, S of the Ky.-Tenn. line; site of the first major Union victory of the Civil War (Feb. 6, 1862). The fort was attacked and reduced by Union...

(Encyclopedia) states of matter, forms of matter differing in several properties because of differences in the motions and forces of the molecules (or atoms, ions, or elementary particles) of which they are composed...

(Encyclopedia) Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fraudulent document that reported the alleged proceedings of a conference of Jews in the late 19th cent., at which they discussed plans to overthrow Christianity thr...

(Encyclopedia) West Florida Controversy, conflict between Spain and the United States concerning possession of Florida. By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Britain received Florida from Spain, and from France that porti...

(Encyclopedia) Northeast Boundary Dispute, controversy between the United States and Great Britain concerning the Maine–New Brunswick boundary. The treaty of 1783 ending the American Revolution had described the n...