Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

190 results found

Goodman, Benny

(Encyclopedia)Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David Goodman), 1909–86, American clarinetist, composer, and band leader, b. Chicago. Goodman studied clarinet at Hull House. In Chicago he had the opportunity to hear (and ...

Stuart, Esmé, 1st duke of Lennox

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, Esmé, 1st duke of Lennox ĕzˈmē [key], 1542?–1583, Scottish nobleman; cousin to James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). Born and reared in France, he succeeded his fat...

disco

(Encyclopedia)disco, style of popular music that flourished during the 1970s. Originating in the United States, it evolved mainly from funk, soul, and salsa and became popular worldwide. Characterized by a heavy, t...

Helms, Jesse Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Helms, Jesse Alexander, 1921–2008, U.S. senator from North Carolina (1973–2003), b. Monroe, N.C. He served in the navy, chiefly as a recruiter, during World War II. A local radio broadcasting exec...

Hooker, John Lee

(Encyclopedia)Hooker, John Lee, 1917–2001, American blues singer and guitarist, b. near Clarksdale, Miss. From a cotton-sharecropping family, he learned the blues from his stepfather and various visiting Delta bl...

Hopkins, Harry Lloyd

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Harry Lloyd, 1890–1946, American public official, b. Sioux City, Iowa. A social worker, he was appointed (1931) head of New York's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration by Franklin Dela...

Paralympic games

(Encyclopedia)Paralympic games, series of international sports contests for athletes with physical, visual, and intellectual impairments. The games grew out of a gathering of British World War II veterans organized...

Lilienthal, David Eli

(Encyclopedia)Lilienthal, David Eli lĭlˈyənthôl [key], 1899–1981, American public official, b. Morton, Ill. He was admitted (1923) to the bar, practiced law, and was appointed by Gov. Philip La Follette to th...

umbilical cord

(Encyclopedia)umbilical cord ŭmbĭlˈĭkəl [key], cordlike structure about 22 in. (56 cm) long in the pregnant human female, extending from the abdominal wall of the fetus to the placenta. Its chief function is t...

isopod

(Encyclopedia)isopod īˈsəpŏdˌ [key], common name for crustaceans belonging to the order Isopoda and in the same subclass as lobsters and crayfish. Isopods are characterized by their flattened bodies, lack of a...

Browse by Subject