Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hatoyama, Yukio

(Encyclopedia)Hatoyama, Yukio hätōˈyämä [key], 1947–, Japanese politician, grad. Tokyo Univ. (B.S., 1969), Stanford (Ph.D, 1976). Though his grandfather was Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama and his father was...

Gilbreth, Frank Bunker

(Encyclopedia)Gilbreth, Frank Bunker, 1868–1924, b. Fairfield, Me., and his wife, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, 1878–1972, b. Oakland, Calif., pioneering American industrial engineers. He was a largely self-taught e...

Jones, Casey

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Casey, 1864–1900, American locomotive engineer celebrated in ballad and song, probably b. Jordan, Fulton co., Ky. His real name was John Luther Jones, but at the age of 17 he went to Cayce, K...

autogiro

(Encyclopedia)autogiro jīˈrəplān [key], type of aircraft supported in the air by a horizontally mounted airfoil similar to that of a helicopter but unpowered. Invented by the Spaniard Juan de la Cierva, it was ...

Muskie, Edmund Sixtus

(Encyclopedia)Muskie, Edmund Sixtus, 1914–96, U.S. Senator (1959–80), b. Rumford, Maine. A lawyer, he sat (1947–51) in the Maine legislature after serving in the navy in World War II. He later became (1955) M...

pawnbroker

(Encyclopedia)pawnbroker, one who makes loans on personal effects that are left as security. The practice of pawnbroking is ancient, as is recognition of the danger it involves of oppressing the poor. In fact, the ...

lark

(Encyclopedia)lark, common name for members of the large family Alaudidae, perching birds of terrestrial habits, chiefly of the Old World and best-known through the skylark, Alauda arvensis. The horned larks belong...

Klobuchar, Amy Jean

(Encyclopedia) Klobuchar, Amy Jean, Senator from Minnesota, 1960- , b. Plymouth, Mn,, Yale University (B.A., 1982), University of Chicago Law School (J.D., 1985)....

Kananga

(Encyclopedia)Kananga lo͞olwäbo͞orˈ [key], city (1984 pop. 298,693), capital of Kasai-Central prov., S central Congo (Kinshasa), on the Lulua River. It is the commercial and transportation center of a region wh...

videocassette recorder

(Encyclopedia)videocassette recorder (VCR), device that can record television programs or the images from a video camera on magnetic tape (see tape recorder); it can also play prerecorded tapes. A VCR converts the ...

Browse by Subject