Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

performance art

(Encyclopedia)performance art, multimedia art form originating in the 1970s in which performance is the dominant mode of expression. Perfomance art may incorporate such elements as instrumental or electronic music,...

smuggling

(Encyclopedia)smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been ...

Triangle Waist Company

(Encyclopedia)Triangle Waist Company, often called the Triangle Shirtwaist Co., manufacturers of women's cotton and linen blouses. Located in lower Manhattan in the early 20th cent., on Mar. 25, 1911 it was the sit...

balance of trade

(Encyclopedia)balance of trade, relation between the merchandise exports and imports of a country. The concept first became important in the 16th and 17th cent. with the growth of mercantilism. Mercantilist theoris...

Rainey, Gertrude "Ma"

(Encyclopedia)Rainey, Gertrude "Ma," 1886–1939, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Columbus, Ga., as Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett. Rainey's place and...

Dewdney, Anna

(Encyclopedia)Dewdney, Anna, 1965–2016, American children's book author and illustrator, b. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., as Anna Elizabeth Luhrmann, B.A. Wellesley, 1987. After illustrating adult and children's books ...

Denison Dam

(Encyclopedia)Denison Dam, 17,200 ft (5,243 m) long, on the Red River along the Texas–Okla. border, NW of Denison, Tex. The dam, built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers for flood control and hydroelectric power, was...

Drew, Charles Richard

(Encyclopedia)Drew, Charles Richard, 1904–50, African-American physician, b. Washington, D.C. A surgeon and a professor at Howard Univ. (1935–36; 1942–50), he developed a means of preserving blood plasma for ...

Basmachi

(Encyclopedia)Basmachi bäsmäˈchē [key], revolt against Communist rule in Central Asia by Muslims and bandits, 1917–30. The Basmachi fought a guerrilla war against the Red Army, leading uprisings in the Fergan...

pigmentation

(Encyclopedia)pigmentation, name for the coloring matter found in certain plant and animal cells and for the color produced thereby. Pigmentation occurs in nearly all living organisms. Almost all plants synthesize ...