Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

430 results found

parimutuel betting

(Encyclopedia)parimutuel betting părˌĭmyo͞oˈtyo͞oĕl [key], system of cooperative wagering invented (c.1870) in France by Pierre Oller. According to the system, the holders of winning tickets divide the total...

Biel

(Encyclopedia)Biel byĕn [key], city (1990 est. pop. 52,020), Bern canton, NW Switzerland, at the northeast end of the Lake of Biel. A watchmaking center, Biel also manufactures chains and machinery. There is a 16t...

Belloc, Hilaire

(Encyclopedia)Belloc, Hilaire (Joseph Hilaire Pierre Belloc) bĕlˈŏk [key], 1870–1953, English author, b. France. He became a British subject in 1902, and from 1906 to 1910 was a Liberal member of Parliament fo...

La Trémoille, Georges de

(Encyclopedia)La Trémoille or La Trimouille, Georges de zhôrzh də lä trāmoiˈyə or trēmo͞oˈyə [key], c.1385–1446, favorite of King Charles VII of France, sometime chamberlain to John the Fearless of Bur...

mansard roof

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mansard roof mansard roof mănˈsärd [key], type of roof, so named because it was frequently used by the French architect François Mansart. It was not devised by him but was used early in th...

Don Juan

(Encyclopedia)Don Juan dŏn wän, jo͞oˈən, Span. dōn hwän [key], legendary profligate. He has a counterpart in the legends of many peoples, but the Spanish version of the great libertine has become the most un...

San Francisco Symphony

(Encyclopedia)San Francisco Symphony, orchestra founded 1911. It has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall since 1980. Henry Hadley, the original music director, was followed by Alfred Hertz (1915–30), ...

Beeckman, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Beeckman, Isaac bākˈmən [key], 1588–1637, Dutch physicist. An early proponent of mathematical reasoning and experimental verification in natural philosophy, he contributed to the modern conceptio...

Balthus

(Encyclopedia)Balthus bôlˈthəs, bălˈ– [key], 1908–2001, Polish-French painter, b. Paris as Count Balthasar Klossowski de Rola. Balthus is sometimes regarded as one of the most important figurative painters...

Browse by Subject