Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bancroft, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Bancroft, Edward, 1744–1821, spy in the American Revolution, b. Westfield, Mass. He studied medicine and natural history, producing a book (1769) on Guiana's flora and fauna, a defense of the coloni...

Scapa Flow

(Encyclopedia)Scapa Flow skăpˈə [key], area of water, 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, in the Orkney Islands, off N Scotland. It is bounded by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsa...

Seferis, George

(Encyclopedia)Seferis, George sĕfĕrˈēs [key] (Giorgos Sefiriades), 1900–1971, Greek poet. Educated at the Univ. of Paris, he returned to Greece, where he had a distinguished career as a diplomat, including se...

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Christmas Island, tropical island, 60 sq mi (155 sq km), an external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean c.200 mi (320 km) S of Java. The majori...

Charles I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 1863–1908, king of Portugal (1889–1908), son and successor of Louis I. A cultured man, learned in language and oceanography, Charles had little opportunity to display his administrative...

glanders

(Encyclopedia)glanders, highly contagious disease of horses, mules, and donkeys, caused by the bacterium Actinobacillus mallei. Although it can be transmitted to humans, it is limited almost exclusively to handlers...

Glubb, Sir John Bagot

(Encyclopedia)Glubb, Sir John Bagot băgˈət [key], 1897–1986, British soldier. He served in France during World War I and in 1920 was posted to Iraq, where he lived among Arab Bedouins and studied their languag...

English horn

(Encyclopedia)CE5 English horn English horn, musical instrument, the alto of the oboe family, pitched a fifth lower than the oboe and treated as a transposing instrument. It has a pear-shaped bell, giving it a ...

valve

(Encyclopedia)valve, device for controlling the flow of fluids (liquids and gases). Valves vary in construction and size depending upon their function. Some are classified according to their method of operation or ...

Queensberry, James Douglas, 2d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Queensberry, James Douglas, 2d duke of, 1662–1711, Scottish statesman. One of the early supporters of William III in Scotland, he held offices under him and Queen Anne, rising to become commissioner...