Columbia City (pop., 2000: 116,278), capital of South Carolina, U.S. Located in the centre of the state on the Congaree River, it dates from 1786, when a town was laid out to replace Charleston as the state capi¬ tal. During the American Civil War, it was a transportation centre and the seat of many Confederate agencies; in 1865 it was occupied by Union troops and virtually destroyed by fire. Rebuilt after the war, it developed a diversified economy based on government, industry, and agriculture. Cotton, peaches, and tobacco are important crops in the surrounding area. It is the seat of the University of South Carolina.
Columbia Broadcasting System See CBS
Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. Major U.S. film studio. It originated in 1920 when brothers Jack and Harry Cohn formed a com¬ pany with Joe Brandt to produce short films and low-budget westerns. It became Columbia Pictures in 1924. Harry Cohn, who served as president and head of production from 1932 until his death in 1958, was the driv¬ ing force behind its success. The studio produced the 1930s films of Frank Capra and many other successful films, including All the King’s Men (1949), From Here to Eternity (1953), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and The Last Emperor (1987). After Columbia was purchased by the Coca-Cola Co. in 1982, it helped launch Tri-Star Pictures. The two studios merged in 1987 as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, which was bought by Sony Corp. in 1989.
Columbia River River, southwestern Canada and northwestern U.S. Rising in the Canadian Rockies, it flows through Washington state, enter¬ ing the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Ore.; it has a total length of 1,240 mi (2,000 km). It was a major transportation artery in the Pacific Northwest until the coming of the railroads. Development of the river began in the 1930s with construction of the Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams, and within 50 years the entire river within the U.S. had been converted into a series of “stair steps” by a total of 11 dams. Its many hydroelectric power plants are basic to the power-generating network of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia University Private university in New York City, a tradi¬ tional member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, it was renamed Columbia College when it reopened in 1784 after the Ameri¬ can Revolution. It became Columbia University in 1912. Its liberal arts college began admitting women in 1983. Neighbouring Barnard College, founded in 1889 and part of the university since 1900, remains a wom¬ en’s liberal arts school; most courses are open to students of both col¬ leges. From the outset Columbia differed from other private Eastern universities in its emphasis on such subjects as nature study, commerce, history, and government. It has strong graduate programs in the arts and sciences and several notable research institutes. Among its professional schools are those of architecture, business, education (Teachers College, Columbia University), engineering, international and public affairs, jour¬ nalism, law, medicine (including affiliations with Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital), nursing, public health, and social work.
columbine Any of approximately 70 species of perennial herbaceous plants constituting the genus Aquilegia, in the buttercup family, native to Europe and North America. They are distinctive for their five-petaled flowers with long, backward-extending spurs. Sepals and petals are brightly coloured. A. caerulea and A. chysantha are native to the Rocky Mountains. The wild columbine of North America (A. canadensis ), bear¬ ing red flowers with touches of yellow, grows in woods and on rocky ledges from southern Canada southward. Many garden hybrids are cul¬ tivated for their showy flowers.
Columbus, Christopher Italian Cristoforo Colombo Spanish Cristobal Colon (b. between Aug. 26 and Oct. 317, 1451, Genoa—d. May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain) Genoese navigator and explorer whose transatlantic voyages opened the way for European exploration, exploi¬ tation, and colonization of the Americas. He began his career as a young seaman in the Portuguese merchant marine. In 1492 he obtained the spon¬ sorship of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I for an attempt to reach Asia by sailing westward over what was presumed to be open
sea. On his first voyage he set sail in August 1492 with three ships—the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta —and land was sighted in the Baha¬ mas on October 12. He sailed along the northern coast of Hispaniola and returned to Spain in 1493. He made a second voyage (1493-96) with at least 17 ships and founded La Isabela (in what is now the Dominican Republic), the first European town in the New World. This voyage also began Spain’s effort to promote Christian evangelization. On his third voyage (1498-1500) he reached South America and the Orinoco River delta. Allegations of his poor administration led to his being returned to Spain in chains. On his fourth voyage (1502-04) he returned to South America and sailed along the coasts of present-day Honduras and Panama. He was unable to attain his goals of nobility and great wealth. His char¬ acter and achievements have long been debated, but scholars generally agree that he was an intrepid and brilliant navigator.
Columbus City (pop., 2000: 186,291), western Georgia, U.S. Located on the Chattahoochee River, it was founded in 1828 and by 1840 had become a leading inland cotton port with a thriving textile industry. Dur¬ ing the American Civil War it was a major supply city for the Confederacy and the site of the last battle east of the Mississippi. Now highly indus¬ trialized, Columbus is one of the South’s largest textile centres. It is home to the National Civil War Naval Museum. Fort Benning (established 1918) is nearby.
Columbus City (pop., 2000: 711,470), capital of Ohio, U.S. Located at the junction of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, the city was planned in 1812 as a political centre and sited opposite the original 1797 settlement of Franklinton; the state government moved to the city in 1816. The arrival of roads, canals, and rail in the mid 19th century led to significant growth, and by 1900 Columbus had emerged as an important transportation and commercial centre. It is Ohio’s largest city, and its economy is supported by industry, governmental agencies, and numerous educational and research institutions, including the Ohio State University.
Columbus Platform In Reform Judaism, a declaration issued by a con¬ ference of U.S. Reform rabbis meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in 1937. It supported the use of traditional ceremonies and Hebrew in the liturgy and reemphasized the idea of the Jewish people, a dramatic revision of the Reform principles stated in the Pittsburgh Platform (1885).
Columcille See St. Columba
column In architecture, a vertical element, usually a slender shaft, that provides structural support by carry¬ ing axial loads in compression; col¬ umns are also subject to buckling.
Columns may be exposed or hidden in walls; constructed of precast con¬ crete, masonry, stone, or wood or of steel wide-flange, pipe, or tubular sections; they may be plain, fluted, or sculpted, with or without a capital and base. Columns may also be non- structural, used for decorative or monumental purposes. See also inter- COLUMNIATION, ORDER.
coma Complete lack of conscious¬ ness, with loss of reaction to stimu¬ lus and of spontaneous nervous activity. It is usually associated with cerebral injury of metabolic or physical origin. Simple concussions cause short losses of consciousness. Coma from lack of oxygen may last sev¬ eral weeks and is often fatal. Coma caused by stroke can be sudden, while that caused by metabolic abnormalities (as in diabetes melutus) or cerebral tumours comes on gradually. Treatment depends on the cause.
Comana \k3-'ma-n9\ Ancient city in Cappadocia, eastern Anatolia. Located on the Seyhan River in the Taurus Mountains, it was the centre of the cult of the mother goddess Ma-Enyo and the site of lavish celebra¬ tions. It was governed by a chief priest, usually a member of the reign¬ ing Cappadocian family, who ranked next to the king. A Roman colony in the 3rd century ad, it lay on the chief military road to the empire’s eastern frontier.