Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Latimer, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Latimer, Hugh lătˈəmər [key], 1485?–1555, English bishop and Protestant martyr. Latimer was educated at Cambridge, entered the church, and came under the influence of the Reformation. He first b...

Paralympic games

(Encyclopedia)Paralympic games, series of international sports contests for athletes with physical, visual, and intellectual impairments. The games grew out of a gathering of British World War II veterans organized...

Ulbricht, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Ulbricht, Walter välˈtər o͝olˈbrĭkht [key], 1893–1973, Communist leader in the German Democratic Republic. A founder of the German Communist party, he fled Germany in 1933 and went to Moscow, ...

adenosine monophosphate

(Encyclopedia)adenosine monophosphate (AMP) ədĕnˈəsēn mŏnˌəfŏsˈfāt [key], organic compound composed of an adenine base, the sugar ribose, and one phosphate unit. AMP is one of the possible products of th...

white-collar workers

(Encyclopedia)white-collar workers, broad occupational grouping of workers engaged in nonmanual labor; frequently contrasted with blue-collar (manual) employees. American in origin, the term has close analogues in ...

Bustamante, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Bustamante, Sir Alexander bŭsˌtəmănˈtē [key], 1884–1977, prime minister of Jamaica (1962–67). Born William Alexander Clarke, the son of an Irish father and a Jamaican mother, he was adopted...

Abbey Theatre

(Encyclopedia)Abbey Theatre, Irish theatrical company devoted primarily to indigenous drama. W. B. Yeats was a leader in founding (1902) the Irish National Theatre Society with Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, and A. E. ...

border terrier

(Encyclopedia)border terrier, breed of hardy, medium-sized terrier developed in the Border districts of N England in the 18th and 19th cent. It stands about 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 131�...

Zhivkov, Todor

(Encyclopedia)Zhivkov, Todor tôˈdôr zhĭvkôfˈ [key], 1911–98, Bulgarian political leader. A printer, and a Communist party member from 1932, he rose to prominence as a partisan leader during World War II and...

suspension, in vehicles

(Encyclopedia)suspension, in automobiles, system of springs used to suspend the frame, body, engine, and power train above the wheels. Its principal purpose is to lessen the jarring of the automobile that is caused...

Browse by Subject