Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ritter, Tex

(Encyclopedia)Ritter, Tex (Woodward Maurice Ritter), 1905–74, American country singer, b. Murvaul, Tex. He moved (1930) to New York, where he performed in musicals and on the radio. Settling (1936) in California,...

Didion, Joan

(Encyclopedia)Didion, Joan dĭdˈēŏn [key], 1934–2021, American writer, b. Sacramento, Calif., Univ. of ...

Eocene epoch

(Encyclopedia)Eocene epoch ēˈəsēnˌ [key], second epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era of geologic time, from approximately 54.9 to 38 million years ago. The Eocene in North America was marked by th...

gecko

(Encyclopedia)gecko gĕkˈō [key], small or medium-sized lizard of the family Gekkonidae. Some 1,500 species are distributed throughout the warm regions of the world, mostly in the Old World. Despite folklore to t...

Mount Wilson Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Mount Wilson Observatory, astronomical observatory located in California on Mt. Wilson, near Pasadena. Mt. Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George E. Hale. Its equipment includes 100-in. (2.5...

californium

(Encyclopedia)californium kălˈĭfôrˌnēəm [key] [from California], artificially produced, radioactive metallic chemical element; symbol Cf; at. no. 98; mass no. of most stable isotope 251; m.p. about 900℃; b...

Sinclair, Upton

(Encyclopedia)Sinclair, Upton (Upton Beall Sinclair), 1878–1968, American novelist and socialist activist, b. Baltimore, grad. College of the City of New York, 1897. He was one of the muckrakers, and a dedication...

Denton

(Encyclopedia)Denton, city (2020 pop. 139,869), seat of Denton co., N Tex.; inc. 1866. The city lies in an agricultural and industrial region, but the economy is base...

Dernburg, Bernhard

(Encyclopedia)Dernburg, Bernhard bĕrnˈhärt dĕrnˈbo͝ork [key], 1865–1937, German financier and public official. As colonial director (1906) and colonial secretary (1907–10), he was responsible for reforms ...

College Park

(Encyclopedia)College Park. 1 City (2020 pop. 15,053), Clayton and Fulton counties, NW Ga., a residential suburb of Atlanta; inc. 1891. Georgia Military Academy (1900...

Browse by Subject