Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Wilbur, Ray Lyman

(Encyclopedia)Wilbur, Ray Lyman, 1875–1949, American public official and educator, b. Boonesboro, Iowa, grad. Stanford (B.A., 1896; M.A., 1897) and Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, 1899. After studying medi...

Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Jackson. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,446), seat of Jackson co., S Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1857. It is an industrial and commercial center in a farm region. The city's chief manufactures are machinery...

Macdonald, Ross

(Encyclopedia)Macdonald, Ross, pseud. of Kenneth Millar, 1915–83, American novelist, b. Los Gatos, Calif. He was educated in Canada and at the Univ. of Michigan. Macdonald's mystery novels center on the tough but...

Lovecraft, H. P.

(Encyclopedia)Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips Lovecraft), 1890–1937, American writer, b. Providence, R.I. A master of Gothic horror, fantasy, and science fiction of a most rococo variety, he is particularly not...

life preserver

(Encyclopedia)life preserver, a personal flotation device (PFD) intended to keep the wearer afloat, particularly in case of shipwreck. A Type I PFD will keep even unconscious people afloat in a face–up position; ...

Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, William Murray, 1st earl of, 1705–93, English jurist. As solicitor general (1742–54) he prosecuted the Scottish rebel lords, Balmerino (Arthur Elphinstone), Kilmarnock, and Lovat. In 17...

motel

(Encyclopedia)motel, public lodging establishment for automobile travelers. Motels have traditionally differed from hotels in that the former have facilities for free parking on the premises, are seldom more than t...

Hauptmann, Bruno Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hauptmann, Bruno Richard, 1899–1936, convicted kidnapper and murderer, b. Germany. The infant son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh was abducted (Mar. 1, 1932) at Hopewell, N.J., and a ransom of ...

Gideon v. Wainwright

(Encyclopedia)Gideon v. Wainwright, case decided in 1963 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted of a felony in a Florida court. He had defended himself after being denied a request for free c...

Funes, Mauricio

(Encyclopedia)Funes, Mauricio (Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena), 1959–, Salvadoran journalist and politician, president of El Salvador (2009–14). A television reporter, he became known for his news reporting an...