Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse

(Encyclopedia)Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse băndəlērˈ [key], 1840–1914, American anthropologist and historian, b. Bern, Switzerland. He was a disciple of Lewis Henry Morgan. An expert on Spanish colonial...

Coues, Elliott

(Encyclopedia)Coues, Elliott kouz [key], 1842–99, American ornithologist, b. Portsmouth, N.H., grad. Columbian College, later Columbian Univ. and now George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1861; M.D., 1863; Ph.D., 1869)....

Durango, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Durango do͝orăngˈgō [key], city (2020 pop. 19,071), seat of La Plata co., SW Colo., on the ...

Butler, William Orlando

(Encyclopedia)Butler, William Orlando, 1791–1880, American general and political leader, b. Carrollton, Ky. He served in the War of 1812 and distinguished himself in the battle of New Orleans. He was a Congressma...

canning

(Encyclopedia)canning, process of hermetically sealing cooked food for future use. It is a preservation method, in which prepared food is put in glass jars or metal cans that are hermetically sealed to keep out air...

Coué, Émile

(Encyclopedia)Coué, Émile āmēlˈ kwā [key], 1857–1926, French psychotherapist. He is remembered for his formula for curing by optimistic autosuggestion, “Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and b...

daylight saving time

(Encyclopedia)daylight saving time (DST), time observed when clocks and other timepieces are set ahead so that the sun will rise and set later in the day as measured by civil time. The amount of daylight on a given...

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...

O'Brien, William Shoney

(Encyclopedia)O'Brien, William Shoney, c.1826–1878, American silver magnate, b. Dublin, Ireland. He was brought to the United States as a child and worked in a New York grocery store before going to California in...

zydeco

(Encyclopedia)zydeco zīˈdĭkōˌ [key], American musical form originating among the African-American Creoles of Louisiana. Drawing on elements of traditional Cajun music as well as jazz, country and western, blue...