Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

329 results found

Interpol

(Encyclopedia)Interpol, acronym for the International Criminal Police Organization, a worldwide clearinghouse for police information. Conceived in 1914, Interpol was formally established in 1923 with headquarters a...

Hess, Victor Francis

(Encyclopedia)Hess, Victor Francis, 1883–1964, American physicist, b. Austria, Ph.D. Univ. of Graz, 1906. After teaching at the universities of Graz and Innsbruck, he came to the United States in 1938 and was lat...

Judson, Adoniram

(Encyclopedia)Judson, Adoniram ădənīˈrəm [key], 1788–1850, American Baptist missionary, b. Malden, Mass. At Andover Theological Seminary, he became the leader of a missionary movement out of which grew the A...

Mott, Sir Nevill

(Encyclopedia)Mott, Sir Nevill, 1905–96, British physicist. A professor at the Univ. of Bristol (1933–54) and the Univ. of Cambridge (1954–71), Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for a lifetime of re...

Morley, Sylvanus Griswold

(Encyclopedia)Morley, Sylvanus Griswold, 1883–1948, American archaeologist, b. Chester, Pa., grad. Harvard, 1908. A specialist in Middle American archaeology and Mayan heiroglyphs, Morley did fieldwork (1909–14...

rock garden

(Encyclopedia)rock garden, garden planned around natural rock formations or rocks artificially arranged to simulate natural (often mountainous) conditions. The concept of rock gardens is believed to have been intro...

Ferguson, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Ferguson, Adam fûrˈgəsən [key], 1723–1816, Scottish philosopher and historian. He was professor of philosophy at the Univ. of Edinburgh (1759–85). His Essay on the History of Civil Society (17...

silversides

(Encyclopedia)silversides, common name for small shore fishes, belonging to the family Antherinidae, abundant in the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and named for the silvery stripe on either side of the...

Lanier, Sidney

(Encyclopedia)Lanier, Sidney lənērˈ [key], 1842–81, American poet and musician, b. Macon, Ga., grad. Oglethorpe College 1860. His first work, the novel Tiger-Lilies (1867), was based on his experiences as a Co...

pathology

(Encyclopedia)pathology, study of the cause of disease and the modifications in cellular function and changes in cellular structure produced in any cell, organ, or part of the body by disease. The changes in tissue...

Browse by Subject