Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Letcher, John

(Encyclopedia)Letcher, John, 1813–84, American politician, b. Lexington, Va. He studied law and practiced at Lexington, where he also edited the Jacksonian Democrat Valley Star. In Congress (1851–59), he was kn...

Key, David McKendree

(Encyclopedia)Key, David McKendree, 1824–1900, American politician and jurist, b. Greene co., Tenn. He practiced law in Chattanooga, Tenn., from 1853 to 1870, except during the Civil War, when he was an officer i...

Thompson, William Hale

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, William Hale, 1869–1944, American politician, b. Boston. His family moved to Chicago when he was nine years old, and there he later entered politics as an alderman (1900–1902). He became...

tendon

(Encyclopedia)tendon, tough cord composed of closely packed white fibers of connective tissue that serves to attach muscles to internal structures such as bones or other muscles. Sometimes when the muscle involved ...

electronic game

(Encyclopedia)electronic game, device or computer program that provides entertainment by challenging a person's eye-hand coordination or mental abilities. Made possible by the development of the microprocessor, ele...

Döbereiner, Johann Wolfgang

(Encyclopedia)Döbereiner, Johann Wolfgang yōˈhän vôlfˈgäng döˈbərīnər [key], 1780–1849, German chemist. From 1810 he was professor of the Univ. of Jena. He is known especially for his discovery of sim...

Alain-Fournier

(Encyclopedia)Alain-Fournier älăN-fo͞ornyāˈ [key], 1886–1914, French novelist, whose real name was Henri Alban Fournier. He was killed in action during World War I. His single full-length work is his poetic ...

endless screw

(Encyclopedia)endless screw, screw fixed so that it cannot move longitudinally as it rotates. Thus, instead of the usual action in which a screw advances itself through a medium as it turns, the screw remains stati...

Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of (HUD), established 1965 to coordinate and administer programs that provide assistance for housing and community development. The department a...

Front de Libération du Québec

(Encyclopedia)Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) frôN də lēbĕräsyôNˈ dü kābĕkˈ [key], Canadian separatist group formed in the 1960s to bring about the independence of Quebec, which has a French herita...