Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

468 results found

aggression

(Encyclopedia)aggression, a form of behavior characterized by physical or verbal attack. It may appear either appropriate and self-protective, even constructive, as in healthy self-assertiveness, or inappropriate a...

Leopold I, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Leopold I, 1790–1865, king of the Belgians (1831–65); youngest son of Francis Frederick, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After serving as a page at the court of Napoleon I and as a general of the Ru...

Malachy, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Malachy, Saint mălˈəkē [key], 1095–1148, Irish churchman, reformer of the church in Ireland. His Irish name was Máel Máedoc ua Morgair. He was assistant to Cellach (Celsus), bishop of Armagh, ...

maquiladoras

(Encyclopedia)maquiladoras mäkēˌlädōˈräs [key], Mexican assembly plants that manufacture finished goods for export to the United States. The maquiladoras are generally owned by non-Mexican corporations. They...

Sanger, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Sanger, Frederick săngˈər [key], 1918–2013, British biochemist, grad. Cambridge (B.A., 1939; Ph.D., 1943). He continued his research at Cambridge after 1943. He won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Chemis...

Toland, Gregg Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Toland, Gregg Wesley, 1904–48, American cinematographer, b. Charleston, Ill. One of Hollywood's most accomplished and influential cinematographers, Toland worked for Samuel Goldwyn from 1929, first ...

chlamydia

(Encyclopedia)chlamydia kləmĭdˈēə [key], genus of microorganisms that cause a variety of diseases in humans and other animals. Psittacosis, or parrot fever, caused by the species Chlamydia psittaci, is transmi...

Chrysler Building

(Encyclopedia)Chrysler Building, in midtown Manhattan, New York City, at Lexington Ave. between 42d and 43d St. The ultimate art deco-style skyscraper, it was commissioned by Walter P. Chrysler, designed by William...

Anaximander

(Encyclopedia)Anaximander ənăkˌsĭmănˈdər [key], c.611–c.547 b.c., Greek philosopher, b. Miletus; pupil of Thales. He made the first attempt to offer a detailed explanation of all aspects of nature. Anaxima...

Governors Island

(Encyclopedia)Governors Island, 173 acres (70 hectares), in Upper New York Bay, S of Manhattan island, SE N.Y. Bought from the Native Americans by the Dutch in 1637, it was the site of an early New Netherlands sett...