Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

351 results found

oyster

(Encyclopedia)oyster, bivalve mollusk found in beds in shallow, warm waters of all oceans. The shell is made up of two valves, the upper one flat and the lower convex, with variable outlines and a rough outer surfa...

Warren Commission

(Encyclopedia)Warren Commission, popular name given to the U.S. Commission to Report upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, established (Nov. 29, 1963) by executive order of President Lyndon B. Johnso...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1449–92, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1449–92, Italian merchant prince, called Lorenzo il Magnifico [the magnificent]. He succeeded (1469) his father, Piero de' Medici, as...

Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3d marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3d marquess of sôlzˈbərē [key], 1830–1903, British statesman. He entered Parliament in 1853 as a Conservative and devoted himself for 50 years to ...

Hearst, William Randolph

(Encyclopedia)Hearst, William Randolph, 1863–1951, American journalist and publisher, b. San Francisco. A flamboyant, highly controversial figure, Hearst was nonetheless an intelligent and extremely competent new...

smart card

(Encyclopedia)smart card, small device that resembles a credit card but contains an embedded microprocessor to store and process information. Magnetic-stripe cards, which store a very small amount of information (m...

peonage

(Encyclopedia)peonage pēˈənĭj [key], system of involuntary servitude based on the indebtedness of the laborer (the peon) to his creditor. It was prevalent in Spanish America, especially in Mexico, Guatemala, Ec...

Chouteau

(Encyclopedia)Chouteau sho͞otōˈ [key], family of American fur traders. René Auguste Chouteau, 1749–1829, b. New Orleans, accompanied (1763) his stepfather, Pierre Laclede, on a trading expedition to the Illin...

iodine

(Encyclopedia)iodine īˈədīn, –dĭn [key] [Gr.,=violet], nonmetallic chemical element; symbol I; at. no. 53; at. wt. 126.90447; m.p. 113.5℃; b.p. 184.35℃; sp. gr. 4.93 at 20℃; valence −1, +1, +3, +5, o...

Wilkinson, James

(Encyclopedia)Wilkinson, James, 1757–1825, American general and one of the most corrupt and devious officers in the nation's early army, b. Calvert co., Md. Abandoning his medical studies in 1776 to join the army...