Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

84 results found

pesticide

(Encyclopedia)pesticide, biological, physical, or chemical agent used to kill plants or animals that are harmful to people; in practice, the term pesticide is often applied only to chemical agents. Various pesticid...

Ute

(Encyclopedia)Ute yo͞ot, yo͞oˈtē [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In t...

Colorado Springs

(Encyclopedia)Colorado Springs, city (2020 pop. 478,961), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. ...

California State University System

(Encyclopedia)California State University System, coordinating agency established in 1960 by the merger of individual California state colleges, now consisting of 23 campuses. It constitutes one of the three Califo...

Edwards, John Reid

(Encyclopedia)Edwards, John Reid (Johnny Reid Edwards), 1953–, U.S. politician, b. Seneca, S.C., grad. North Carolina State Univ. (B.A., 1974), Univ. of North Carolina (J.D., 1977). The son of a textile-mill work...

Gibson, William

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, William, 1948–, Canadian science fiction writer, b. Conway, S.C., moved to Canada in the 1960s. He first published short stories in sci-fi magazines; many are collected in Burning Chrome (19...

Křenek, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Křenek, Ernst krĕˈnĕk, Czech kerzhĕˈnĕk [key], 1900–1991, Austrian-American composer, b. Vienna. to Czech parents. He studied in Vienna and Berlin, and in the early 1920s he composed chamber ...

mountain men

(Encyclopedia)mountain men, fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mts. during the 1820s and 30s. Their activities opened that region of the United States to general knowledge. Since the days of French domination th...

Cohan, George Michael

(Encyclopedia)Cohan, George Michael kōhănˈ, kōˈhăn, kōˈən [key], 1878–1942, American showman, b. Providence, R.I. As a child he appeared in vaudeville as one of “The Four Cohans” with his father, mot...

Fort Wayne

(Encyclopedia)Fort Wayne, city (2020 pop. 263,886), seat of Allen co., NE Ind., where the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers join to form the Maumee River; inc. 1840. It...

Browse by Subject