Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

438 results found

Parsons, Sir Charles Algernon

(Encyclopedia)Parsons, Sir Charles Algernon, 1854–1931, British engineer. He invented a revolutionary steam turbine that bears his name. His first turbines were constructed to drive generators to produce electric...

Barclay, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Barclay, Alexander bärˈklē, –klā [key], 1475?–1552, Scottish clergyman and poet. Although the first to write pastoral eclogues in English, he is best known for The Ship of Fools (1509), a tran...

Renton

(Encyclopedia)Renton, city (1990 pop. 41,688), King co., W Wash., an industrial suburb of Seattle, on Lake Washington; inc. 1901. It is a freshwater port of entry via the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Its first impor...

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

(Encyclopedia)Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, at Woods Hole, Mass.; est. 1930. In addition to oceanographic research, it conducts important work in meteorology, biology, geology, and geophysics. Its facilitie...

Spuyten Duyvil Creek

(Encyclopedia)Spuyten Duyvil Creek spīˈtən dīˈvəl [key], tidal channel, now a ship canal, c.1 mi (1.6 km) long, SE N.Y., in New York City. It separates the northern tip of Manhattan island from the mainland a...

Bainbridge, William

(Encyclopedia)Bainbridge, William, 1774–1833, American naval officer, b. Princeton, N.J. An experienced sea captain, he joined (1798) the navy when war with France threatened. His ship, the Retaliation, was captu...

shipping

(Encyclopedia)shipping, transportation of passengers and goods on waterways. From prehistoric times shipping has had a major influence on human social development. Water routes, unlike roads, did not need building,...

steamship

(Encyclopedia)steamship, watercraft propelled by a steam engine or a steam turbine. Despite such innovations as turbo-electric drive, which converts steam energy into rotational power for turning the propeller...

Menominee, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Menominee mənŏmˈənē [key], city (1990 pop. 9,398), seat of Menominee co., N Mich., W Upper Peninsula, on Green Bay at the mouth of the Menominee River; inc. 1883. It is a distribution center for ...

Malé Island

(Encyclopedia)Malé Island mälˈā [key] small island and town (1995 pop. 62,937), capital of the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean. Part of Malé Atoll, Malé Island is the site of a seaplane base and a ship anchorag...