Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

324 results found

Michelson, Albert Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Michelson, Albert Abraham mīˈkəlsən [key], 1852–1931, American physicist, b. Strelno, Prussia, grad. Annapolis, 1873, and studied at Berlin, Heidelberg, and Paris. He was professor of physics at...

Los Angeles Philharmonic

(Encyclopedia)Los Angeles Philharmonic, founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark, Jr. After his death the Southern California Symphony Association was formed in 1934 to sponsor the orchestra. It was housed in Philh...

Peoria

(Encyclopedia)Peoria pēôrˈēə [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 50,618), Maricopa co., central Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix; settled 1897, inc. 1954. With the completion of the Arizona Canal in 1885, the area was settled ...

Buffett, Warren Edward

(Encyclopedia)Buffett, Warren Edward bŭfˈət [key], 1930–, American financial executive, b. Omaha, Nebr., ...

Suso, Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Suso, Heinrich hīnˈrĭkh zo͞oˈzō [key], c.1295–1366, German mystic, a Dominican friar, also known as Henry Suso. While studying at Cologne he came under the influence of Meister Eckhart, whose ...

United States Naval Observatory

(Encyclopedia)United States Naval Observatory, a federal astronomical observatory, located in Washington, D. C. It evolved from the Navy's oldest scientific institution, the Depot of Charts and Instruments, founded...

unidentified flying object

(Encyclopedia)unidentified flying object or UFO, an object or light reportedly seen in the sky whose appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behavior do not readily suggest a logical, convention...

Biddle, Nicholas, American financier

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, Nicholas, 1786–1844, American financier, b. Philadelphia. After holding important posts in the American legations in France and England, he returned to the United States in 1807 and became o...

Mackinac

(Encyclopedia)Mackinac măkˈĭnôˌ [key], historic region of the Old Northwest (see Northwest Territory), a shortening of Michilimackinac. The name, in the past, was variously applied to different areas: to Macki...

Dunham, Katherine

(Encyclopedia)Dunham, Katherine dŭnˈəm [key], 1909?–2006, American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, b. Chicago. She studied anthropology at the Univ. of Chicago, where she received a B.A. and Ph.D. a...

Browse by Subject