Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Cornelius, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Cornelius, Peter pāˈtər kôrnāˈlēo͝os [key], 1824–74, German composer and poet; follower of Liszt and Wagner. He wrote music criticism, songs, and poetry but is best known for his operas Der ...

Guthrie, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Guthrie, Samuel, 1782–1848, American physician, b. Brimfield, Mass. In Sackets Harbor, N.Y., where he settled after serving as surgeon in the War of 1812, he invented a percussion powder and a punch...

Menger, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Menger, Carl kärl mĕngˈər [key], 1840–1921, Austrian economist, a founder of the Austrian school of economics. He was professor of economics at the Univ. of Vienna from 1873 until 1903, when he ...

Jena

(Encyclopedia)Jena yāˈnä [key], city (1994 pop. 100,090), Thuringia, E central Germany, on the Saale River. Manufactures of this industrial center include pharmaceuticals, glass, optical and precision instrument...

Welsbach mantle

(Encyclopedia)Welsbach mantle or Welsbach burner [for C. A. von Welsbach], cylindrical framework of gauze impregnated with oxides of thorium and cerium. When heated in a gas flame, it produces a very bright light b...

Tisza, Kálmán

(Encyclopedia)Tisza, Kálmán kälˈmän tĭˈsŏ [key], 1830–1902, Hungarian premier (1875–90), of an old Calvinist family. He entered politics in the Hungarian revolution of Mar., 1848. Elected (1861) to the ...

Balbus

(Encyclopedia)Balbus (Lucius Cornelius Balbus) bălˈbəs [key], fl. 1st cent. b.c., Roman statesman, b. Gades (now Cádiz, Spain). He won notice for brilliant service against Sertorius, and Pompey brought him to R...

Ammanati, Bartolomeo

(Encyclopedia)Ammanati, Bartolomeo bärtōlōmĕˈō äm-mänäˈtē [key], 1511–92, Italian sculptor and architect. He studied under Bandinelli in Florence and assisted Jacopo Sansovino in his work on the Librar...

Johnson, Judy

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Judy (William Julius Johnson), 1899–1989, American baseball player, b. Snow Hill, Md. His father, a boxing coach, wanted him to be a prizefighter, but he started playing semipro baseball in...

Julian Day calendar

(Encyclopedia)Julian Day calendar, system of astronomical dating that allows the difference between two dates to be calculated more easily than conventional civil calendars with their uneven months. It was devised ...

Browse by Subject