Britannica
Encyclopedias since 1768  
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0-9
Catron, John ... Cavaignac, Louis-Eugene
Catron, John
associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1837-65).
Catroux, Georges
French general and diplomat, one of the highest-ranking officers in the Free French government of World War II.
Cats, Jacob
Dutch writer of emblem books and didactic verse whose place in the affections of his countrymen is shown by his nickname, "Father Cats."
Catskill Delta
structure that was deposited in the northeastern United States during the Middle and Late Devonian Period (the Devonian Period began about 408 million years ago and lasted about 48 million years); it is named for exposures studied in the Catskill ...
Catskill Game Farm, Inc.
privately owned zoo opened in 1933 in Catskill, New York, U.S. It occupies more than 914 acres (370 hectares), of which 135 acres (55 hectares) are open to the public from May to October. The remainder of the zoo grounds ...
Catskill Mountains
dissected segment of the Allegheny Plateau, part of the Appalachian Mountain system, lying mainly in Greene and Ulster counties, southeastern New York, U.S. Bounded north and east by the valleys of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, respectively, the mountains are ...
catsup
spicy liquid condiment widely used in the United States and Great Britain. U.S. catsup is a sweet puree of tomatoes, onions, and green peppers flavoured with vinegar and pickling spice that is eaten with meats, especially beef, and frequently with ...
Catt, Carrie Chapman
American feminist leader who led the women's rights movement for more than 25 years, culminating in the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment (for woman suffrage) to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.
Cattaneo, Carlo
Italian publicist and intellectual whose writings significantly shaped the Risorgimento and whose journal, Il Politecnico ("The Polytechnic"), not only served as a vehicle for his political views but also was influential in introducing new scientific and technical improvements into Italy.
Cattaraugus
county, southwestern New York state, U.S., consisting of a ruggedly hilly region bounded by Cattaraugus Creek to the north and Pennsylvania to the south. It is drained by the Allegheny River and Ischua and Great Valley creeks. Surrounding Allegheny Reservoir ...
Cattell, James McKeen
U.S. psychologist who oriented U.S. psychology toward use of objective experimental methods, mental testing, and application of psychology to the fields of education, business, industry, and advertising. He originated two professional directories and published five scientific periodicals.
Cattell, Raymond B.
British-born American psychologist, considered to be one of the world's leading personality theorists.
cattle
domesticated bovine farm animals that are raised for their meat or milk, for their hides, or for draft purposes.
Cattle Raid of Cooley, The
Old Irish epiclike tale that is the longest of the Ulster cycle of hero tales and deals with the conflict between Ulster and Connaught over possession of the brown bull of Cooley. The tale was composed in prose with verse ...
cattleya
any orchid plant of the genus Cattleya (family Orchidaceae), comprising about 65 species of air plants or rock plants that are commercially important as ornamentals and florists' plants. They are native to tropical America and are widely grown in greenhouses ...
Catton, Bruce
American journalist and historian, noted for his books on the American Civil War.
Catullus, Gaius Valerius
Roman poet whose expressions of love and hatred are generally considered the finest lyric poetry of ancient Rome. In 25 of his poems he speaks of his love for a woman he calls Lesbia, whose identity is uncertain. Other poems ...
Catulus, Gaius Lutatius
Roman commander, victor in the final battle of the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage (264-241). As consul in 242, he blockaded the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum with a fleet of 200 ships. On March 10, 241, ...
Catulus, Quintus Lutatius
Roman politician, a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction in the Senate.
Catulus, Quintus Lutatius
Roman general, at first a colleague and later a bitter enemy of the politically powerful commander Gaius Marius.
Catuvellauni
probably the most powerful Belgic tribe in ancient Britain; it occupied the area directly north of the River Thames. The first capital of the Catuvellauni was located near Wheathampstead, but after their defeat by Julius Caesar in 54 BC, they ...
Cauca
department, southwestern Colombia, stretching eastward from the Pacific Ocean across the Andean Cordilleras (mountains) Occidental and Central, which are separated by the fertile valley of the upper Rio Cauca. The department, 11,316 sq mi (29,308 sq km), is rich in ...
Cauca River
river, western and northwestern Colombia, rising in the Andes near Popayan and flowing northward between the Cordilleras (mountains) Occidental and Oriental for 838 mi (1,349 km) to join the Rio Magdalena north of Mompos. In its middle reaches, the Cauca ...
Caucasian languages
group of languages indigenous to Transcaucasia and adjacent areas of the Caucasus region, between the Black and Caspian seas. As used in this article, the term excludes the Indo-European (Armenian, Ossetic, Talysh, Kurdish, Tat) and Turkic languages (Azerbaijani, Kumyk, Noghay, ...
Caucasian peoples
various ethnic groups living in the Caucasus, a geographically complex area of mountain ranges, plateaus, foothills, plains, rivers, and lakes, with grasslands, forests, marshes, and dry steppes. The complex of regions harbours more than 50 separate peoples, ranging from language ...
Caucasus
mountain system and region lying between the Black Sea (west) and the Caspian Sea (east) and occupied by Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
Cauchon, Pierre
French bishop of Beauvais, an ecclesiastic memorable chiefly because he presided over the trial of Joan of Arc.
Cauchy, Augustin-Louis, Baron
French mathematician who pioneered in analysis and the theory of substitution groups (groups whose elements are ordered sequences of a set of things). He was one of the greatest of modern mathematicians.
caucus
any political group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause.
Caudata
one of the major extant orders of the class Amphibia. It includes salamanders and newts. The relatively small and inconspicuous salamanders are important members of north temperate and some tropical ecosystems, in which they are locally abundant and play important ...
Caudine Forks
narrow mountain pass near Beneventum in ancient Samnium (near modern Montesarchio, Campania, southern Italy). In the Battle of Caudine Forks the Samnites under Gavius Pontius defeated and captured a Roman army in 321 BC, during the Second Samnite War. The ...
caudle cup
small, two-handled silver cup, usually with a cover, originally made in England during the second half of the 17th century and possibly used for caudle-warm ale or wine mixed with bread or gruel, eggs, sugar, and spices-which was administered to ...
Caughley ware
porcelain produced by the Caughley China Works, a factory in Caughley, Shropshire, England. A local earthenware pottery was extended in 1772 by Thomas Turner to make soaprock (steatitic) porcelain; a close connection existed with the Worcester porcelain factory, and from ...
Caulaincourt, Armand, marquis de, Duc De Vicence
French general, diplomat, and ultimately foreign minister under Napoleon. As the Emperor's loyal master of horse from 1804, Caulaincourt was at Napoleon's side in his great battles, and his Memoires provide an important source for the period 1812 to 1814.
cauliflower
(Brassica oleracea, Botrytis group), form of cabbage (q.v.), of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), consisting of a compact terminal mass of greatly thickened, modified, and partially developed flower structures, together with their subtending fleshy stalks.
cauliflower ear
distortion of the cartilage of the outer ear as the result of an injury. If the injury causes bleeding between the cartilage and the skin, it produces a smooth and rounded purplish swelling. Accumulated clotted blood, if not removed, is ...
cauliflower ware
in pottery, creamware modelled and glazed in green and yellow to simulate a cauliflower, the term also applying to other fruit or vegetable forms. About 1760, William Greatbach undertook the potting and modelling, jobbed out to him by Josiah Wedgwood, ...
Caulkins, Tracy
American athlete, considered one of the most versatile swimmers ever. She is the only swimmer to set U.S. records in every stroke.
Caullery, Maurice
French biologist famous for his research on parasitic protozoans and marine invertebrates.
Caulonia
ancient Greek city in southern Italy, southernmost of the colonies founded in Italy by the Achaeans. Established perhaps in the first half of the 7th century BC, Caulonia was an outpost of Croton. Judging from its copious and beautiful coinage ...
Caunt, Benjamin
British bare-knuckle prizefighter, one of the first to aspire to a world championship in addition to national honours. Caunt held the English heavyweight championship from 1838 to 1845, losing the title briefly in 1841 to Nick Ward.
Caupolican
Mapuche chief and a leader of the Indian resistance to the Spanish invaders of Chile.
causerie
in literature, a short, informal essay, often on a literary topic. This sense of the word is derived from the title of a series of essays by the French author Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve entitled Causeries du lundi.
Causses
gorge-gouged limestone plateaus of southwestern France. The name is from cau, local form of chaux, meaning "lime." At elevations of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft (900 to 1,200 m), the Grands-Causses form part of the Massif Central and occupy parts ...
caustic potash
potassium hydroxide, a potassium salt that readily dissolves in water to form a strongly alkaline and corrosive solution (see potassium).
caustic soda
sodium hydroxide, a white crystalline solid used extensively in the manufacture of soap, rayon, and paper (see sodium).
Cauto River
river in Granma and Santiago de Cuba provinces, eastern Cuba. The island's longest river, it flows for 230 mi (370 km) from its source in the Sierra Maestra westward through alluvial swamps into the Golfo (gulf ) de Guacanayabo. Its ...
Cauvery River
sacred river of southern India. It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka state, flows in a southeasterly direction for 475 miles (765 km) through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and descends the Eastern ...
Cava de' Tirreni
town and episcopal see, Salerno province, Campania region, southern Italy, in a rich cultivated valley surrounded by hills, just northwest of Salerno city. Cylindrical towers on the hills are used for shooting pigeons, a tradition derived from Lombardy. Just southwest ...
Cavafy, Constantine
Greek poet who developed his own consciously individual style and thus became one of the most important figures not only in Greek poetry but in Western poetry as well. He lived most of his life in Alexandria, loved English and ...
Cavaignac, Louis-Eugene
French general and chief executive during the Revolution of 1848, known for his harsh reprisals against rebelling Parisian workers in June of that year.
© 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica Australia Ltd
Encyclopedia Home | World Atlas