Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kennedy, Nigel

(Encyclopedia)Kennedy, Nigel, 1956–, British violinist. He studied with Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard and debuted as a soloist with the London Philharmonic in 1977. Adept at the classical repertoire, he developed an...

Killebrew, Harmon Clayton

(Encyclopedia)Killebrew, Harmon Clayton, 1936–2011, American baseball player, b. Payette, Idaho. A soft-spoken slugger nicknamed “Killer,” he played in the American League, beginning (1954) with the Washingto...

Spahn, Warren Edward

(Encyclopedia)Spahn, Warren Edward, 1921–2003, American baseball player, b. Buffalo, N.Y. A spectacular pitcher in high-school baseball, Spahn turned professional in 1939 and played in the minor leagues. In 1942 ...

bass, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)bass băs [key], common name applied to various fishes of Centrarchidae (black basses and sunfishes), Serranidae (sea basses and groupers), Moronidae (temperate basses), and other families. All basses...

nucleosynthesis

(Encyclopedia)nucleosynthesis or nucleogenesis, in astronomy, production of all the chemical elements from the simplest element, hydrogen, by thermonuclear reactions within stars, supernovas, and in the big bang at...

Carson, Rachel Louise

(Encyclopedia)Carson, Rachel Louise, 1907–64, American writer and marine biologist, b. Springdale, Pa., M.A. Johns Hopkins, 1932. Her well-known books on sea life—Under the Sea-Wind (1941), The Sea around Us (1...

Lewis, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Carl (Frederick Carlton Lewis), 1961–, American sprinter and jumper, b. Birmingham, Ala. A star in high school and at the Univ. of Houston, he became possibly the greatest track athlete of al...

Lawrence, Gertrude

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Gertrude, 1902?–1952, English actress and singer. Her original name was Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence-Klasen. Performing on the musical stage from childhood, Lawrence made her New York...

Bar Kokba, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Bar Kokba, Simon, or Simon Bar Cochba kōkˈbə [key] [Heb.,=son of the star], d. a.d. 135, Hebrew hero and leader of a major revolt against Rome under Hadrian (132–135). He may have claimed to be a...

Clark, Alvan

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Alvan, 1804–87, American astronomer and maker of astronomical lenses, b. Ashfield, Mass. In 1846 the firm of Alvan Clark & Sons was established at Cambridgeport, Mass.; it became famous a...

Browse by Subject