Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

214 results found

Loesser, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Loesser, Frank (Frank Henry Loesser), 1910–69, American lyricist and songwriter, b. New York City. He is noted for smart, often witty lyrics that catch the tone and rhythms of vernacular speech. Loe...

National Road

(Encyclopedia)National Road, U.S. highway built in the early 19th cent. At the time of its construction, the National Road was the most ambitious road-building project ever undertaken in the United States. It final...

Shaw, Artie

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, Artie, 1910–2004, American clarinetist and bandleader, b. New York City as Arthur Jacob Arshawsky. He began playing professionally as a teenager, becoming a studio musician in New York after 1...

environmental impact statement

(Encyclopedia)environmental impact statement, analysis of the impact that a proposed development, usually industrial, will have on the natural and social environment. It includes assessment of long- and short-term ...

John XXII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XXII, 1244–1334, pope (1316–34), a Frenchman (b. Cahors) named Jacques Duèse; successor of Clement V. Formerly, he was often called John XXI. He reigned at Avignon. John was celebrated as a ...

Adams, Gerry

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Gerry (Gerard Adams), 1948–, Northern Irish political leader. Born into an Irish nationalist family, Adams became politically active during the Catholic civil rights demonstrations of the 196...

Cadillac, Antoine de la Mothe

(Encyclopedia)Cadillac, Antoine de la Mothe Fr. äNtwänˈ də lä môt kädēyäkˈ [key], c.1658–1730, French colonial governor in North America, founder of Detroit. Of the minor Gascon nobility, he came to Ame...

melting point

(Encyclopedia)melting point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from solid to liquid. Under standard atmospheric pressure different pure crystalline solids will each melt at a different specific tem...

Munsey, Frank Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Munsey, Frank Andrew mŭnˈsē [key], 1854–1925, American publisher and author, b. Mercer, Maine. In 1882 he quit a telegraph operator's job in Maine to begin a career as publisher in New York City....

oilbird

(Encyclopedia)oilbird, common name for an owllike, cave-dwelling bird, Steatornis caripensis, belonging to the family Steatornithidae. It spends its days in dark caves, maneuvering by means of a batlike sonar devic...