Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Moissan, Henri Ferdinand Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Moissan, Henri Ferdinand Frederick, 1852–1907, French chemist, Ph.D. École Pratique des Haute Études, Paris, 1880. Moissan was a professor at the School of Pharmacy in Paris (1886–1900) and at t...

rare earths

(Encyclopedia)rare earths, in chemistry, oxides of the rare-earth metals. They were once thought to be elements themselves. They are widely distributed in the earth's crust and are fairly abundant, although they we...

Robinson, Arthur Howard

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Arthur Howard, 1915–2004, American cartographer, b. Montreal to American parents, Ph.D Ohio State Univ., 1947. The head of the map division of the Office of Strategic Services for much of ...

zydeco

(Encyclopedia)zydeco zīˈdĭkōˌ [key], American musical form originating among the African-American Creoles of Louisiana. Drawing on elements of traditional Cajun music as well as jazz, country and western, blue...

German silver

(Encyclopedia)German silver, name for various alloys of copper, zinc, and nickel, sometimes also containing lead and tin. They were originally named for their silver-white color, but use of the term silver is now p...

Glière, Reinhold Moritzovich

(Encyclopedia)Glière, Reinhold Moritzovich rīnˈhōlt mōrētsôˈvĭch glēĕrˈ [key], 1875–1956, Russian composer. Among his pupils were Prokofiev, Miaskovsky, and Khachaturian. His compositions, generally n...

Gottschalk, Louis Moreau

(Encyclopedia)Gottschalk, Louis Moreau môrōˈ gŏtˈshôk [key], 1829–69, American pianist and composer, b. New Orleans, of English-French parentage, studied in Paris. Chopin and Berlioz praised his playing, an...

Goudy, Frederic William

(Encyclopedia)Goudy, Frederic William gouˈdē [key], 1865–1947, American type designer, b. Bloomington, Ill. Goudy is celebrated as one of the finest and most prolific type designers in history. In 1905, Goudy e...

amphibole

(Encyclopedia)amphibole ămˈfəbōlˌ [key], any of a group of widely distributed rock-forming minerals, magnesium-iron silicates, often with traces of calcium, aluminum, sodium, titanium, and other elements. The ...

Horton, Lester

(Encyclopedia)Horton, Lester, 1906–53, American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher, b. Indianapolis. Moving to California in 1928, Horton formed his own company in Los Angeles and also performed in theater...