Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

finch

(Encyclopedia)finch, common name for members of the Fringillidae, the largest family of birds (including over half the known species), found in most parts of the world except Australia. The true finches are charact...

Eiffel, Alexandre Gustave

(Encyclopedia)Eiffel, Alexandre Gustave īˈfəl, Fr. älĕksäNˈdrə güstävˈ āfĕlˈ [key], 1832–1923, French engineer. A noted constructor of bridges and viaducts, he also designed the Eiffel Tower and the...

Clark, Kenneth Bancroft

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Kenneth Bancroft, 1914–2005, American psychologist and educator, b. Panama Canal Zone, grad. Howard (B.A., 1935) and Columbia (Ph.D., 1940). Clark taught psychology at Howard (1937–38) and ...

Endara Galimany, Guillermo David

(Encyclopedia)Endara Galimany, Guillermo David, 1936–2009, Panamanian political leader. A lawyer and supporter of Arnulfo Arias, he served in the national assembly and was (1968) minister of planning and economic...

Pauncefote of Preston, Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Pauncefote of Preston, Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron pônsˈfo͝ot [key], 1828–1902, British diplomat. He served in various positions in the colonies before becoming (1882) permanent undersecretary f...

Punta Arenas

(Encyclopedia)Punta Arenas po͞onˈtä ärāˈnäs [key], city (1990 est. pop. 120,000), capital of Magallanes y La Antartica Chilena region, S Chile, on the Strait of Magellan, the world's southernmost major city....

suburb

(Encyclopedia)suburb, a community in an outlying section of a city or, more commonly, a nearby, politically separate municipality with social and economic ties to the central city. In the 20th cent., particularly i...

immigration

(Encyclopedia)immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, al...

grizzly bear

(Encyclopedia)grizzly bear or grizzly, large, powerful North American brown bear, characterized by gray-streaked, or grizzled, fur. Grizzlies are 6 to 8 ft (180–250 cm) long, stand 31⁄2 to 4 ft (105–120 cm) a...

Ciampi, Carlo Azeglio

(Encyclopedia)Ciampi, Carlo Azeglio, 1920–2016, Italian banker and political leader, b. Livorno, grad. Scuola Normale Superiore de Pisa (1941), Univ. of Pisa (1946). He joined the Bank of Italy (1946) and worked ...

Browse by Subject