Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

494 results found

Fonda, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Henry, 1905–83, American actor, b. Grand Island, Nebr. He had considerable stage experience, appearing in such plays as Mr. Roberts (1948), The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1958), and Two for ...

Hull, Brett Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Hull, Brett Andrew, 1956–, Canadian-American hockey player, son of Bobby Hull. Brett, an outstanding scoring right wing and a dual Canadian-U.S. citizen, played for the Univ. of Minnesota–Duluth (...

Innocent VI

(Encyclopedia)Innocent VI, d. 1362, pope (1352–62), a Frenchman named Étienne Aubert; successor of Clement VI. He was a well-known jurist and was created cardinal in 1342. He lived at Avignon. He was one of the ...

Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron

(Encyclopedia)Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron dənsănˈē, –sā– [key], 1878–1957, Anglo-Irish author. His life was spent as a soldier and sportsman. Often dealing with the fantastic a...

Kidman, Nicole

(Encyclopedia)Kidman, Nicole (Nicole Mary Kidman), 1967–, Australian actress, b. Honolulu, Hawaii. She began acting on television as a teenager in Australia, then starred in the film Dead Calm (1989). Her later r...

kinglet

(Encyclopedia)kinglet, common name for members of a subfamily of five species of Old and New World warblers, similar to the thrushes and the Old World flycatchers. Kinglets are small birds (4 in./10 cm) with soft, ...

takin

(Encyclopedia)takin təkēnˈ [key], hoofed mammal, Budorcas toxicolor, found in Asia, most closely related to the musk ox. The takin is oxlike in build and may reach a shoulder height of 31⁄2 ft (107 cm). It has...

cargo cult

(Encyclopedia)cargo cult, native religious movement found in Melanesia and New Guinea, holding that at the millennium the spirits of the dead will return and bring with them cargoes of modern goods for distribution...

cerrado

(Encyclopedia)cerrado, tropical ecological region, c. 770,000 sq mi (2 million sq km), Brazil, encompassing several states and the federal district and extending into Bolivia and Paraguay. Located in the central pl...

mole, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)mole, in zoology, common name for the small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae, found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Moles are trapped as pests, although they prob...

Browse by Subject