Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

196 results found

Lewis, Gilbert Newton

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Gilbert Newton, 1875–1946, American chemist, b. Weymouth, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1896; Ph.D., 1899). He taught at Harvard and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1907–12) and...

mutual fund

(Encyclopedia)mutual fund, in finance, investment company or trust that has a very fluid capital stock. It is unique in that at any time it can sell or redeem any of its outstanding shares at net asset value (i.e.,...

Reynolds, Debbie

(Encyclopedia) Reynolds, Debbie, 1932-2016, American actress, singer, and dancer, b. El Paso, Tx., as Mary Frances Reynolds. Reynolds’ family relocated from El Paso...

Masters and Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Masters and Johnson, pioneering research team in the field of human sexuality, consisting of the gynecologist William Howell Masters, 1915–2001, b. Cleveland, and the psychologist Virginia Eshelman ...

Winton, Tim

(Encyclopedia)Winton, Tim (Timothy John Winton), 1960–, Australian writer, generally regarded as the preeminent Australian novelist of his generation. Most of his books have been set in his coastal Western Austra...

consols

(Encyclopedia)consols, contraction of consolidated annuities, a bond issue designed to consolidate two or more outstanding issues, used in reference to British government stock. Public borrowing began in England wi...

Simon, William Edward

(Encyclopedia)Simon, William Edward, 1927–2000, U.S. secretary of the treasury (1974–77), b. Paterson, N.J. He served (1946–48) in the U.S. army in Japan, graduated from Lafayette College (1952), and became a...

amino group

(Encyclopedia)amino group, in chemistry, functional group that consists of a nitrogen atom attached by single bonds to hydrogen atoms, alkyl groups, aryl groups, or a combination of these three. An organic compound...

Dow Jones Average

(Encyclopedia)Dow Jones Average, indicators used to measure and report value changes in representative stock groupings on the New York stock exchange. There are four different averages—industrial stocks, transpor...

commodity market

(Encyclopedia)commodity market, organized traders' exchange in which standardized, graded products are bought and sold. Worldwide, there are more than 20 major commodity exchanges and many smaller ones that trade c...

Browse by Subject