Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

82 results found

hydroplane

(Encyclopedia)hydroplane, small, high-powered racing boat designed to skim along the surface of the water. Its hull is so shaped that at high speeds the bow is tilted up out of the water, reducing the effect of fri...

hydrofoil

(Encyclopedia)hydrofoil, flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft, that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface. The term is often extended to include the vessel i...

Quebec, University of

(Encyclopedia)Quebec, University of, administrative center at Sainte Foy, Que., Canada; provincially supported; French language; founded 1968. Its largest campus is at Montreal and there are also campuses at Trois ...

Lathrop, Julia Clifford

(Encyclopedia)Lathrop, Julia Clifford, 1858–1932, American social worker and administrator, b. Rockford, Ill., grad. Vassar, 1880. Associated with Jane Addams at Hull House in Chicago, she was active in civic wor...

Keighley

(Encyclopedia)Keighley kēthˈlē [key], town (1991 pop. 49,188), Bradford metropolitan district, N central England, at the junction of the Aire and Worth rivers. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal connects Keighley wit...

tugboat

(Encyclopedia)tugboat, small, strongly built vessel, used to guide large oceangoing ships into and out of port and to tow barges, dredging and salvage equipment, and disabled vessels. Tugboats range in overall leng...

naval architecture

(Encyclopedia)naval architecture, science of designing ships. A naval architect must consider especially the following factors: floatability, i.e., the ability of the ship to remain afloat while meeting the require...

Constitution, ship

(Encyclopedia)Constitution, U.S. 44-gun frigate, nicknamed Old Ironsides. It is perhaps the most famous vessel in the history of the U.S. navy. Authorized by Congress in 1794, the ship was launched in 1797 and was ...

Fort Dearborn

(Encyclopedia)Fort Dearborn, U.S. army post on the Chicago River, NE Ill.; est. 1803 and named for Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. Threatened by the indigenous population at the start of the War of 1812, the front...

Browse by Subject