Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Columbia, U.S. space shuttle

(Encyclopedia)Columbia, U.S. space shuttle. On its 28th flight, on Feb. 1, 2003, after completing a 16-day scientific mission, the spacecraft disintegrated during reentry, killing its seven-person crew. About 16 mi...

Kilby, Jack St. Clair

(Encyclopedia)Kilby, Jack St. Clair, 1923–2005, American electrical engineer, b. Jefferson City, Mo., B.S. Univ. of Illinois, 1947, M.S. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1950. In 1958, Kilby began working for Texas Instrument...

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...

Kingsville

(Encyclopedia)Kingsville, city (1990 pop. 25,276), seat of Kleberg co., S Tex.; inc. 1911. It is headquarters of the gigantic King Ranch. The city is a processing center for cotton, livestock, vegetables, and dairy...

Birkbeck, George

(Encyclopedia)Birkbeck, George, 1776–1841, English educator. He established (1800–1804) in Glasgow a popular course of lectures for workingmen, which led to the founding of the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution in...

Slidell, John

(Encyclopedia)Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

Hand, Wayland Debs

(Encyclopedia)Hand, Wayland Debs, 1907–86, folklorist, b. Auckland, New Zealand. Hand wrote Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina (1964), which is ranked among the finest published studies of supe...

Smith, Theobald

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Theobald, 1859–1934, American pathologist, b. Albany, N.Y., M.D. Albany Medical College, 1883. He was professor of bacteriology at Columbian (now George Washington) Univ. (1886–95) and of c...

Mohammadi, Narges

(Encyclopedia)Narges Mohammadi, 1972– , b. Zanjan, Iran, Iranian human rights activist and author, studied at Imam Khomeini International University, also known as ...

tortoise

(Encyclopedia)tortoise tôrˈtəs [key], common name for a terrestrial turtle, especially one of the family Testudinidae. Tortoises inhabit warm regions of all continents except Australia. They have club-shaped fee...