Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Joyce, James

(Encyclopedia)Joyce, James, 1882–1941, Irish novelist. Perhaps the most influential and significant novelist of the 20th cent., Joyce was a master of the English language, exploiting all of its resources. His nov...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

Greenback party

(Encyclopedia)Greenback party, in U.S. history, political organization formed in the years 1874–76 to promote currency expansion. The members were principally farmers of the West and the South; stricken by the Pa...

Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of (HUD), established 1965 to coordinate and administer programs that provide assistance for housing and community development. The department a...

Deloney, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Deloney, Thomas dəlōˈnē [key], c.1543–c.1600, English ballad writer, fiction writer, and pamphleteer. He was a silk weaver. Deloney's chief works are three prose narratives—Jack of Newbury, Th...

molecular biology

(Encyclopedia)molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weave...

Lind, James

(Encyclopedia)Lind, James, 1716–94, English naval surgeon. Considered the founder of naval hygiene in England, Lind observed on a ten-week cruise (1746) that 80 seamen of 350 came down with scurvy. In his Treatis...

Lenox, James

(Encyclopedia)Lenox, James lĕnˈəks [key], 1800–1880, American bibliophile and philanthropist, b. New York City. Lenox was a founder of the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City. He amassed a fine collection of ...

Larkin, James

(Encyclopedia)Larkin, James, 1876–1947, Irish labor leader. The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, which he organized and of which he was secretary, had as its goal the combining of all Irish industrial ...

Lawrence, James

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, James, 1781–1813, American naval hero, b. Burlington, N.J. He entered the navy in 1798 and saw his first important service in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812, as commander of the Ho...