Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hornsby, Rogers

(Encyclopedia)Hornsby, Rogers, 1896–1963, American baseball player and manager, b. Winters, Tex. He started in major league baseball in 1915 as a shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals and later (1920) became a se...

Otto of Freising

(Encyclopedia)Otto of Freising frīˈzĭng [key], b. after 1111, d. 1158, German chronicler, bishop of Freising. He was a son of Leopold III of Austria, a half-brother of Emperor Conrad III, and an uncle of Emperor...

Malory, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Malory, Sir Thomas mălˈərē [key], d. 1471, English author of Morte d'Arthur. It is almost certain that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire. Knighted in 1442, he served in the ...

Rowling, J. K.

(Encyclopedia)Rowling, J. K. (Joanne Kathleen Rowling) rōlˈibreve;ing [key], 1965–, English author known for her popular children's books. While unemployed she completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone...

Nobel Prizes (table)

(Encyclopedia)Nobel Prizes

medical jurisprudence

(Encyclopedia)medical jurisprudence or forensic medicine, the application of medical science to legal problems. It is typically involved in cases concerning blood relationship, mental illness, injury, or death resu...

index, in publishing

(Encyclopedia)index, of a book or periodical, a list, nearly always alphabetical, of the topics treated. This list is usually at the back of a book, and the table of contents is in the front. The index seeks to dir...

Brown, Trisha

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Trisha, 1936–2017, American dancer and choreographer acclaimed for having revolutionized modern dance in the late 20th cent., b. Aberdeen, Wash. After studying dance at Mills College (B.A., 1...

Harris, Townsend

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Townsend, 1804–78, American merchant and diplomat, b. Sandy Hill, N.Y. A merchant in New York City for many years, he became (1846) a member of the board of education, served as its presiden...

Harvard College Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Harvard College Observatory, astronomical observatory located in Cambridge, Mass., operated by Harvard (Harvard College at the time of the observatory's founding in 1839). Its equipment includes a 61-...