Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

327 results found

Jungfrau

(Encyclopedia)Jungfrau –yôkhˌ [key] is a mountain saddle 11,333 ft (3,454 m) high, the highest point in Europe reached by rail. It has a scientific institute and is popular with tourists. A meteorological stati...

Merton, Robert King

(Encyclopedia)Merton, Robert King, 1910–2003, American sociologist, b. Philadelphia as Meyer Schkolnick, grad. Temple Univ. (A.B., 1931) and Harvard (M.A., 1932; Ph.D., 1936). From 1941 on he was a professor of s...

Murnau, Friedrich W.

(Encyclopedia)Murnau, Friedrich W. frēˈdrĭkh mo͝orˈnou [key], 1889–1931, German film director, b. as Friedrich W. Plumpe. He began directing films in Germany in 1919 and went to Hollywood in 1927. Murnau's f...

tautomer

(Encyclopedia)tautomer tôˈtəmər [key], one of two or more structural isomers that exist in equilibrium and are readily converted from one isomeric form to another. Of the various types of tautomerism that are p...

Brendel, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Brendel, Alfred brĕndĕlˈ [key], 1931–, Austrian pianist, b. Moravia (now in the Czech Republic). He debuted publicly in 1948 and, after winning a prize at the Busoni competition in Bolzano, Italy...

Cinna, d. 44 b.c., Roman tribune

(Encyclopedia)Cinna (Caius Helvius Cinna), d. 44 b.c., Roman tribune. At the funeral of Julius Caesar the mob mistook him for Lucius Cornelius Cinna and killed him. He was probably the minor poet Cinna, a friend of...

Rosenberg Case

(Encyclopedia)Rosenberg Case, in U.S. history, a lengthy and controversial espionage case. In 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Julius Rosenberg (1918–53), an electrical engineer who had worked (...

Pharsalus

(Encyclopedia)Pharsalus färˈsäləs [key], ancient city, Thessaly, Greece. Near there in 48 b.c., Julius Caesar decisively defeated Pompey, who had a much larger force. Lucan's Bellum Civile (often called Pharsal...

Bogart, Humphrey DeForest

(Encyclopedia)Bogart, Humphrey DeForest bōˈgärt [key], 1899–1957, American film actor, b. New York City. After a succession of stage roles he achieved note with his portrayal of the gangster Duke Mantee in The...

Browse by Subject