Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata

(Encyclopedia)Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata chŭnˈdrəsĕkärə vĕngˈkətə räˈmən [key], 1888–1970, Indian physicist. He was professor of physics at Calcutta Univ. from 1917 to 1933. In Bangalore (now ...

Achilles' tendon

(Encyclopedia)Achilles' tendon (tendo calcaneus) tĕnˈdō kălkāˈnēəs [key], sinew prominent at the back of the ankle, connecting the tendons of the calf muscles to the heelbone. When the musculature contracts...

Vakhtangov, Yevgeni

(Encyclopedia)Vakhtangov, Yevgeni yĭvgāˈnyē väkhtänˈgôf [key], 1883–1922, Russian actor, producer, and founder of the Moscow theater that bears his name. A pupil and friend of Stanislavsky, Vakhtangov joi...

cat's-eye

(Encyclopedia)cat's-eye, gemstone that displays a thin band of reflected light on its surface when cut as a cabochon. Its name is derived from its supposed resemblance to the eye of a cat. The optical effect, known...

Abbot, Charles Greeley

(Encyclopedia)Abbot, Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, American astrophysicist, b. Wilton, N.H. He was acting director in 1896 and director in 1907 of the astrophysical observatory of the Smithsonian Institution; he wa...

Sloan, Alfred Pritchard, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Sloan, Alfred Pritchard, Jr., 1875–1966, American businessman and philanthropist, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1895. He began his career as a draftsman for the H...

Canada First movement

(Encyclopedia)Canada First movement, party that appeared in Canada soon after confederation (1867). Its purpose was to encourage the growth of nonpartisan loyalty to the new dominion of Canada. In Toronto, in 1874,...

Gettysburg campaign

(Encyclopedia)Gettysburg campaign, June–July, 1863, series of decisive battles of the U.S. Civil War. The Gettysburg battles included more than 160,000 soldiers and many camp laborers. These included thousands ...

Lange, Friedrich Albert

(Encyclopedia)Lange, Friedrich Albert frēˈdrĭkh älˈbĕrt längˈə [key], 1828–75, German neo-Kantian philosopher. He accepted the materialistic method of investigating phenomena but rejected its concept of ...

Montero Ríos, Eugenio

(Encyclopedia)Montero Ríos, Eugenio āo͞ohāˈnyō mōntāˈrō rēˈōs [key], 1832–1914, Spanish statesman and jurist. He was professor of canon law at the universities of Oviedo, Santiago, and Madrid. He ent...