Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Geim, Sir Andre Konstantinovich

(Encyclopedia)Geim, Sir Andre Konstantinovich, 1958–, Russian-born Dutch physicist, Ph.D. Russian Academy of Sciences, 1987. He was a professor at the Univ. of Nijmegen in the Netherlands from 1994 to 2001, when ...

Force, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Force, Peter, 1790–1868, American journalist and historian, b. near Paterson, N.J. He served in the War of 1812 and afterward established himself in Washington, D.C., as a printer. Entering local po...

flamingo

(Encyclopedia)flamingo, common name for a large pink or red wading bird, similar to the related heron, stork, and spoonbill but with a longer neck, webbed feet, and a unique down-bent bill. Flamingos are tropical b...

Kabir

(Encyclopedia)Kabir kəbērˈ [key], 1440–1518, Indian mystic and poet. A Muslim by birth, he was a weaver in Benares (Varanasi) and early in life may have become the disciple of the famous Hindu saint Ramananda....

Nujoma, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Nujoma, Sam (Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma) no͞oyōˈmä [key], 1929–, Namibian political leader. A railway worker in what was then the South African mandate of South West Africa, Nujoma became ...

nitrocellulose

(Encyclopedia)nitrocellulose, nitric acid ester of cellulose (a glucose polymer). It is usually formed by the action of a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids on purified cotton or wood pulp. The extent of nitratio...

Kenny, Enda

(Encyclopedia)Kenny, Enda ĕnˈdä [key], 1951–, Irish politician. After teaching primary school, he was elected to the Irish parliament in 1975, winning his late father's seat and becoming the body's youngest me...

Martínez de Campos, Arsenio

(Encyclopedia)Martínez de Campos, Arsenio ärsāˈnyō märtēˈnĕth dā kämˈpōs [key], 1831–1900, Spanish general. He served in Morocco (1859–60), in Mexico (1861–63), and in Cuba (1869–72). He played...

Mau Mau

(Encyclopedia)Mau Mau mouˈ mouˌ [key], secret insurgent organization in Kenya, comprising mainly Kikuyu tribespeople. They were bound by oath to force the expulsion of white settlers from Kenya. In 1952 the Mau M...

assembly line

(Encyclopedia)assembly line, manufacturing technique in which a product is carried by some form of mechanized conveyor among stations at which the various operations necessary to its assembly are performed. It is u...

Browse by Subject