Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ryan, Nolan

(Encyclopedia)Ryan, Nolan (Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.), 1947–, American baseball player, b. Refugio, Tex. A right-handed pitcher with a blazing fastball, he played with the New York Mets, the California Angels, the Hou...

Santa Gertrudis cattle

(Encyclopedia)Santa Gertrudis cattle, breed of beef cattle derived from crosses between Shorthorn cows (see Shorthorn cattle) and Brahman bulls (see Brahman cattle); the breed was developed by Robert J. Kleberg, Jr...

Nelson, Byron

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Byron (John Byron Nelson, Jr.), 1912–2006, American golfer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. In 1926 he began playing golf as a caddie, and in 1932 he entered upon his professional career. Noted for the ...

Taylor, Myron Charles

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Myron Charles, 1874–1959, American industrialist and diplomat, b. Lyons, N.Y. He practiced law and then ran a group of textile mills in New England. In 1932 he succeeded J. P. Morgan, Jr., a...

Cerar, Miro

(Encyclopedia)Cerar, Miro (Miroslav Cerar, Jr.), 1963–, Slovenian lawyer and political leader, b. Ljubljana. After earning a law doctorate from the Univ. of Ljubljana, he became a professor of constitutional law ...

science fiction

(Encyclopedia)science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

Mitchel, John

(Encyclopedia)Mitchel, John, 1815–75, Irish revolutionist and journalist. A practicing lawyer, Mitchel contributed articles to the Nation (Dublin) and the United Irishman, which he founded in 1848, calling for re...

Murasaki Shikibu

(Encyclopedia)Murasaki Shikibu mo͞oˌräsäˈkē shēˌkēbo͞oˈ [key], c.978–1031?, Japanese novelist, court figure at the height of the Heian period (794–1185). Known also as Lady Murasaki, she is celebrate...

Gleason, Henry Allan

(Encyclopedia)Gleason, Henry Allan glēˈsən [key], 1882–1975, American botanist, plant geographer, and plant ecologist. His floristic studies of North American vegetation led to his “individualistic concept o...

Saint Austell

(Encyclopedia)Saint Austell sŭnt ôˈstəl; [key], town (1991 pop. 36,639), Cornwall, SW England, at the mouth of the Fowey River on St. Austell Bay. China clay (discovered there c.1755) is produced and exported, ...