Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Amano, Hiroshi

(Encyclopedia)Amano, Hiroshi, 1960–, Japanese physicist, Ph.D. Nagoya Univ., Japan, 1989. He is a professor at Nagoya Univ. in Japan. Amano is the joint recipient with Shuji Nakamura and Isamu Akasaki of the 2014...

Service, Robert William

(Encyclopedia)Service, Robert William, 1874–1958, Canadian poet and novelist, b. England, educated at the Univ. of Glasgow. He went to Canada in 1897 and held odd jobs in British Columbia and at Whitehorse in the...

snipe

(Encyclopedia)snipe, common name for a shore bird of the family Scolopacidae (sandpiper family), native to the Old and New Worlds. The common, or Wilson's snipe (Capella gallinago), also called jacksnipe, is a game...

Sikorski, Władysław

(Encyclopedia)Sikorski, Władysław vlädĭˈswäf shēkôrˈskē [key], 1881–1943, Polish general and politician. He fought in World War I and later (1922–25) held various cabinet posts. Premier Piłsudski dis...

prism

(Encyclopedia)prism, in optics, a piece of translucent glass or crystal used to form a spectrum of light separated according to colors. Its cross section is usually triangular. The light becomes separated because d...

Petlyura, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Petlyura, Simon sĭmyōnˈ pyətlyo͞oˈrə [key], 1879–1926, Ukrainian nationalist politician. In Jan., 1919, he became leader of the independent Ukrainian republic that emerged after the collapse ...

Australian cattle dog

(Encyclopedia)Australian cattle dog, breed of medium-sized herding dog developed in Australia. It stands from 18 to 20 in. (45.7–50.8 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 33 lb (15 kg). Its double coat consi...

Saint David's

(Encyclopedia)Saint David's, Welsh Tyddewi, small town, Pembrokeshire, SW Wales. The renowned town cathedral is mainly Transitional Norman in style, built of red-violet stone. Among its features is the late 13th-ce...

trogon

(Encyclopedia)trogon trōˈgŏn [key], family of tropical jungle birds related to the roadrunners and including the quetzal. Trogons are sedentary arboreal birds, 10 to 14 in. (25.4–35.6 cm) long, with short roun...

Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in

(Encyclopedia)Ts'ao Hsüeh-ch'in tsouˈ shyĕˈchĭnˈ [key], 1715–63, Chinese novelist. He is the author of Story of the Stone (or A Dream of Red Mansions), which is considered China's greatest novel. After his ...