Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

viscose process

(Encyclopedia)viscose process vĭsˈkōs [key], method widely used for the commercial preparation of rayon. Cellulose, prepared from either wood pulp or, less commonly, cotton linters, is treated with sodium hydrox...

Sophia

(Encyclopedia)Sophia sōfīˈə, Ger. zōfēˈä [key], 1630–1714, electress of Hanover, consort of Elector Ernest Augustus. She was the daughter of Frederick the Winter King and Elizabeth of Bohemia, who was the...

Henry VII, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry VII, c.1275–1313, Holy Roman emperor (1312–13) and German king (1308–13). A minor count of the house of Luxembourg, Henry was elected German king on the death of King Albert I after the el...

Charles X, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles X, 1622–60, king of Sweden (1654–60), nephew of Gustavus II. The son of John Casimir, count palatine of Zweibrücken, he brought the house of Wittelsbach to the Swedish throne when his cou...

Charles the Bold

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Bold, 1433–77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467–77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Loui...

linoleum

(Encyclopedia)linoleum lĭnōˈlēəm [key], resilient floor or wall covering made of burlap, canvas, or felt, surfaced with a composition of wood flour, oxidized linseed oil, gums or other ingredients, and colorin...

Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau de

(Encyclopedia)Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau de pyĕr lwē môrōˈ də mōpĕrtüēˈ [key], 1698–1759, French mathematician and astronomer. For his skillful support of Newton's theory he was admitted to the Ro...

Meaux

(Encyclopedia)Meaux mō [key], city (1990 pop. 49,409), Seine-et-Marne dept., N France, in Brie, on the Marne River. It is an industrial center where metals, flour, chemicals, and foodstuffs are produced. An episco...

Kramer, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer), 1921–2009, American tennis player, b. Las Vegas, Nev. He excelled at tennis while still in high school. Kramer and Frederick (Ted) Schroeder won the U.S. national ...

Hart, Albert Bushnell

(Encyclopedia)Hart, Albert Bushnell, 1854–1943, American historian, b. Clarksville, Greene co., Pa. He began teaching history at Harvard in 1883, became a full professor in 1897, and from 1910 until his retiremen...