Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Ruth, book of the Bible. It tells a story, set in the days of the judges, of the fidelity of a Moabite widow (Ruth) to her widowed mother-in-law (Naomi). After the death of her husband in Moab, Ruth r...

Reynoldsburg

(Encyclopedia)Reynoldsburg rĕnˈəlzbûrgˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 25,748), Franklin and Licking counties, central Ohio; inc. 1839, as a city 1961. It is a residential suburb of Columbus. ...

astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

Nez Percé

(Encyclopedia)Nez Percé nĕz pûrs, nā pĕrsāˈ [key] [Fr.,=pierced nose], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American langu...

Lewiston

(Encyclopedia)Lewiston. 1 City (1990 pop. 28,082), seat of Nez Perce co., NW Idaho, at the Wash. line and at the junction of the Snake and Clearwater rivers; founded 1861. It is the commercial and industrial center...

Langmuir, Irving

(Encyclopedia)Langmuir, Irving lăngˈmyo͞or [key], 1881–1957, American chemist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Associated (1909–50) with the research laboratory of the General Electric Company, he introduced atomic-hydrog...

Holyfield, Evander

(Encyclopedia)Holyfield, Evander, 1962–, American boxer, b. Atmore, Ala. Favored to win the 1984 Olympic heavyweight title, but victim of a controversial disqualification, he turned professional and became cruise...

Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, river in W Tasmania, Australia, 125 mi (200 km) long. Flowing from mountains to the W coast, its main tributaries are the Franklin and Denison from the N, and Serpentine and Olga to the S. In ...

Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de shärl grävyāˈ kôNt də vĕrzhĕnˈ [key], 1717–87, French statesman. After serving as ambassador at Trier, Constantinople, and Stockholm (where in 1772 he p...

Royce, Josiah

(Encyclopedia)Royce, Josiah, 1855–1916, American philosopher, b. California, grad. Univ. of California, 1873. After studying in Germany and at Johns Hopkins, he returned to California to teach (1878–82). From 1...