Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

tody

(Encyclopedia)tody tōˈdē [key], common name for small (3–4 in./9–10 cm) West Indian birds of the family Todidae, comprising the single genus Todus. Bright green above with red throats, they are forest birds ...

blood test

(Encyclopedia)blood test, examination of blood routinely or as an aid in diagnosing a suspected disease. Tests may be performed on whole blood or on the plasma portion only. Blood typing identifies the proteins at ...

seaweed

(Encyclopedia)seaweed, name commonly used for the multicellular marine algae. Simpler forms, consisting of one cell (e.g., the diatom) or of a few cells, are not generally called seaweeds; these tiny plants help to...

Johnson, Lady Bird

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912–2007, b. Karnack, Tex., as Claudia Alta Taylor. She married (1934) Lyndon B. Johnson and played an active role in his political career. As first lady (1963–69), she was th...

Hephaestus

(Encyclopedia)Hephaestus hĕfĕsˈtəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god. According to Homer he was the son of Hera and Zeus, but Hesiod states that he was conceived and borne by Hera alone. Orig...

Hart, Doris

(Encyclopedia)Hart, Doris, 1925–2015, American tennis player, b. St. Louis, Mo. One of the outstanding tennis stars of the 1950s, Hart won her first Grand Slam title in women's doubles at Wimbledon in 1947 and fr...

Frothingham, Octavius Brooks

(Encyclopedia)Frothingham, Octavius Brooks frŏᵺˈĭnghəm [key], 1822–95, American clergyman and writer, b. Boston. While a Unitarian minister in Salem (1847–55) he came under the influence of Theodore Parke...

Sessions, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Sessions, Roger, 1896–1985, American composer and teacher, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Sessions was a pupil of Horatio Parker at Yale and of Ernest Bloch. He taught (1917–21) at Smith, leaving to teach at t...

Redwood National Park

(Encyclopedia)Redwood National Park, 112,430 acres (45,518 hectares), along the Pacific coast, NW Calif.; est. 1968. Backed by coastal bluffs, 40 mi (64 km) of beach, lagoon, and rocky coast are preserved in their ...

Office of Strategic Services

(Encyclopedia)Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the purpose of obtaining information about enemy nations and ...