Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Wilkins, Maurice Hugh Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Wilkins, Maurice Hugh Frederick, 1916–2004, British biophysicist, b. New Zealand, Ph.D. Univ. of Birmingham, 1940. He conducted research at the Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland, and at Kings College, ...

navy

(Encyclopedia)navy, originally, all ships of a nation, whether for war or commerce; the term navy now designates only such vessels as are built and maintained specifically for war. There have been three major devel...

merger

(Encyclopedia)merger, in corporate business, fusion of two or more corporations by the transfer of all property to a single corporation. The remaining corporation continues in existence, having absorbed the other(s...

Augsburg

(Encyclopedia)Augsburg ouksˈbo͝ork [key], city, capital of Swabia, Bavaria, S central Germany, a major industrial center on the Lech River. The major industries include the manufactur...

Tianjin

(Encyclopedia)Tianjin or Tientsin both: tyänˈjĭnˈ [key], city and independent municipality (2010 pop. 12,938,224), NE China. In E central Hebei prov., it is a politically independent unit (4,400 sq mi/11,399 sq...

commodity market

(Encyclopedia)commodity market, organized traders' exchange in which standardized, graded products are bought and sold. Worldwide, there are more than 20 major commodity exchanges and many smaller ones that trade c...

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

(Encyclopedia)United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or Earth Summit, an 11-day meeting held in June, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss the global conflict between economic devel...

Isabella II

(Encyclopedia)Isabella II, 1830–1904, queen of Spain (1833–68), daughter of Ferdinand VII and of Maria Christina. Her uncle, Don Carlos, contested her succession under the Salic law, and thus the Carlist Wars b...

John I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)John I (John Zapolya) zäˈpôlyŏ [key], 1487–1540, king of Hungary (1526–40), voivode [governor] of Transylvania (1511–26). He was born John Zapolya, the son of Stephen Zápolya. The leader of...

waters, territorial

(Encyclopedia)waters, territorial, all waters within the jurisdiction, recognized in international law, of a country. Certain waters by their situation are controlled by one nation; these include wholly enclosed in...