Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Coulomb, Charles Augustin de

(Encyclopedia)Coulomb, Charles Augustin de ko͞oˈlŏm, ko͞olŏmˈ, Fr. shärl ōgüstăNˈ də ko͞olôNˈ [key], 1736–1806, French physicist. In 1789 he retired from his posts as military engineer and as super...

Svinhufvud, Pehr Evind

(Encyclopedia)Svinhufvud, Pehr Evind pār āˈvĭnd svēnˈho͝oˌvəd, svĭnˈho͝ovo͝od [key], 1861–1944, president of Finland (1931–37). A judge under the Russian czarist regime in Finland, he played a majo...

Busoni, Ferruccio Benvenuto

(Encyclopedia)Busoni, Ferruccio Benvenuto fār-ro͞otˈchō bānvāno͞oˈtō bo͞ozōˈnē [key], 1866–1924, Italian pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he gave a concert in Trieste at the age of eight, which...

King, Henry

(Encyclopedia)King, Henry, 1592–1669, English poet. He became bishop of Chichester in 1642. Elegies constitute nearly half his work, his most notable being “The Exequy,” written on the death of his young wife...

E Pluribus Unum

(Encyclopedia)E Pluribus Unum ē plo͝orˈĭbəs yo͞oˈnəm [key] [Lat.,=one made out of many], motto on the Great Seal of the United States and on many U.S. coins. Although selected in 1776 by Benjamin Franklin, ...

Chungju

(Encyclopedia)Chungju cho͞ongˈjo͞oˈ [key], city, North Chungcheong prov., central South Korea. Chungju is an ...

Pôrto Velho

(Encyclopedia)Pôrto Velho pōrˈto͝o vĕˈlyo͝o [key], city (1996 pop. 287,534), capital of Rondônia state, NW Brazil, on the Madeira River. It is a rail terminus and the last point of navigation on the river. ...

Ruapehu

(Encyclopedia)Ruapehu ro͞oəpāˈho͞o [key], active volcano, 9,175 ft (2,797 m) high, on North Island, New Zealand; highest point of North Island. Ruapehu's most recent large eruptions were in 1995 and 1996. It i...

Newcomen, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Newcomen, Thomas nyo͞oˈkəmən, nyo͞okŭmˈən [key], 1663–1729, English inventor of an early atmospheric steam engine (c.1711). It was an improvement over an earlier engine patented (1698) by Th...

Ulúa

(Encyclopedia)Ulúa o͞olo͞oˈä [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in the Cordillera de Opalaca, W Honduras, and flowing north to the Caribbean Sea. The Ulúa, with its tributaries, drains almost the en...