Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

296 results found

mendelevium

(Encyclopedia)mendelevium mĕndəlāvˈēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Md; at. no. 101; mass no. of most stable isotope 258; m.p. 827℃; b.p. and sp. gr. unknown; valence +1...

Merwin, W. S.

(Encyclopedia)Merwin, W. S. (William Stanley Merwin), 1927–2019, American poet and translator, b. New York City. After graduating from Princeton in 1948, he traveled in Europe, working as a tutor and studying Rom...

combinatorics

(Encyclopedia)combinatorics kŏmˌbĭnətôrˈēəl [key], sometimes called the science of counting, the branch of mathematics concerned with the selection, arrangement, and operation of elements within sets. Combi...

Clarke, Arthur C.

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Arthur C. (Sir Arthur Charles Clarke), 1917–2008, British science fiction writer. During World War II he served as a radar instructor and aviator in the Royal Air Force. After the war he obt...

Chamberlain, Sir Austen

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlain, Sir Austen (Joseph Austen Chamberlain) chāmˈbərlĭn [key], 1863–1937, British statesman; son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. He entered Parliament as a...

Fonda, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Jane, 1937–, American actress, b. New York City; daughter of Henry Fonda and sister of Peter Fonda. First cast in pert and sexy roles, she later distinguished herself in dramatic parts, often...

Green party

(Encyclopedia)Green party, any of the political parties established in various countries to oppose the destructive environmental effects of many modern technologies and the economic systems and institutions that dr...

Abramoff scandal

(Encyclopedia)Abramoff scandal, in U.S. history, political corruption scandal resulting from criminal conduct on the part of lobbyist Jack Abramoff (1959–) and his associates. Abramoff was a Republican activist w...

Baring

(Encyclopedia)Baring bârˈĭng [key], British family of bankers. Sir Francis Baring (1740–1810) founded (1763) the John and Francis Baring Company, which he renamed Baring Brothers and Company in 1806. At first ...

Browse by Subject