Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Richardson, John

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, John, 1796–1852, first Canadian novelist to write in English. He fought in the War of 1812 and later served with the British army in England, Spain, and Barbados. His most famous works a...

Perley, Sir George Halsey

(Encyclopedia)Perley, Sir George Halsey, 1857–1938, Canadian statesman, b. Lebanon, N.H. As a child, he moved with his parents to Ottawa. In 1904 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative,...

Holzer, Jenny

(Encyclopedia)Holzer, Jenny, 1950–, American artist, b. Gallipolis, Ohio. She links text and image in works of art composed of short aphorisms or longer declarations. Influenced by Dada, conceptual art, and femin...

barograph

(Encyclopedia)barograph, instrument used to make a continuous recording of atmospheric pressure. The pressure-sensitive element, a partially evacuated metal cylinder, is linked to a pen arm in such a way that the v...

electroscope

(Encyclopedia)electroscope, device for detecting electric charge invented by Nollet in 1748. There are various types of electroscopes. The most common has a cylindrical metal case closed by two round, flat, glass f...

transit instrument

(Encyclopedia)transit instrument or transit, telescope devised to observe stars as they cross the meridian and used for determining time. Its viewing tube swings on a rigid horizontal axis restricting its movements...

shock absorber

(Encyclopedia)shock absorber, device for reducing the effect of a sudden shock by the dissipation of the shock's energy. On an automobile, springs and shock absorbers are mounted between the wheels and the frame. W...

Mount Stephen, George Stephen, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Mount Stephen, George Stephen, 1st Baron, 1829–1921, Canadian financier and railroad builder, b. Scotland. He emigrated to Canada in 1850, became a manufacturer, and was (1876–81) president of the...

Northwest Angle

(Encyclopedia)Northwest Angle, point of land, c.123 sq mi (319 sq km), N Minnesota, the northernmost point of the coterminous United States and the only place in the United States, outside of Alaska, N of the 49th ...

Broadbent, Ed

(Encyclopedia)Broadbent, Ed (John Edward Broadbent), 1936–, Canadian political leader. After studying at the Univ. of Toronto (Ph.D., 1966) and the London School of Economics, he taught political science at York ...