Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

wirehaired pointing griffon

(Encyclopedia)wirehaired pointing griffon, breed of medium-sized sporting dog developed in Holland and France in the late 19th cent. It stands about 22 in. (56 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 45 and 60 ...

Speusippus

(Encyclopedia)Speusippus spyo͞osĭpˈəs [key], fl. 347–339 b.c., Greek philosopher; disciple and nephew of Plato, whom he succeeded as head of the Academy. Speusippus distinguished 10 grades of being, thereby p...

Roa, Raúl

(Encyclopedia)Roa, Raúl (Raúl Roa García) räo͞olˈ rōˈä [key], 1907–82, Cuban minister of foreign affairs (1959–76). A lawyer, he was also a university professor in the 1940s and 1950s. He wrote prolifi...

cockle

(Encyclopedia)cockle, common name applied to the heart-shaped, jumping or leaping marine bivalve mollusks, belonging to the order Eulamellibranchia. The brittle shells are of uniform size, are obliquely spherical, ...

Zoroastrianism

(Encyclopedia)Zoroastrianism zôˌrōăsˈtrēənĭzəm [key], religion founded by Zoroaster, but with many later accretions. The religion's priests, successors to the pre-Zoroastrian Magi, acquired great power b...

Douglas, Norman

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Norman (George Norman Douglas), 1868–1952, British novelist and essayist, b. Scotland. He spent the years from 1894 to 1896 in diplomatic service in Russia but resigned from the foreign ser...

Fitch, John

(Encyclopedia)Fitch, John, 1743–98, American inventor, b. Windsor, Conn. Fitch began (1785) work on the invention of the steam engine and steamboat and secured soon afterward the exclusive right to build and oper...

Elsheimer, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Elsheimer, Adam äˈdäm ĕlsˈhīmər [key], 1578–1610?, German painter. After studying in Frankfurt, Munich, and Venice, he settled in Rome and worked for Pope Paul V. He painted small pictures on...

Gallup, George Horace

(Encyclopedia)Gallup, George Horace, 1901–84, American public opinion statistician, originator of the Gallup poll, b. Jefferson, Iowa. After teaching journalism at Drake Univ. (1929–31) and at Northwestern Univ...

Folger, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Folger, Peter fōlˈjər [key], 1617–90, British settler on Nantucket. He was associated with Thomas Mayhew on Martha's Vineyard, becoming missionary, schoolmaster, and surveyor. He moved to Nantuck...