Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

naked mole rat

(Encyclopedia)naked mole rat, name applied to a species (Heterocephalus glaber) of small rodents found in E Africa, whose members—the only hairless rodents—live entirely in underground communities of 80 or more...

Wheeler, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Wheeler, Joseph, 1836–1906, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Augusta, Ga. He resigned from the U.S. army in Apr., 1861, to fight for the Confederacy. He commanded a regiment at Shil...

Securities and Exchange Commission

(Encyclopedia)Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agency of the U.S. government created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and charged with protecting the interests of the public and investors in connecti...

land-grant colleges and universities

(Encyclopedia)land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering prog...

Lancaster, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Lancaster. 1 Uninc. city (1990 pop. 97,291), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in Antelope Valley and in the Mojave Desert; laid out 1894. It developed as a trade center for an irrigated farming area and has...

Clarendon Code

(Encyclopedia)Clarendon Code, 1661–65, group of English statutes passed after the Restoration of Charles II to strengthen the position of the Church of England. The Corporation Act (1661) required all officers of...

Ellsworth, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745–1807, American political leader, 3d chief justice of the United States (1796–1800), b. Windsor, Conn. A Hartford lawyer, he was (1778–83) a member of the Continental Cong...

Ward, John Quincy Adams

(Encyclopedia)Ward, John Quincy Adams, 1830–1910, American sculptor, b. Urbana, Ohio. He was trained under H. K. Brown, whom he assisted in the execution of the equestrian statue of George Washington in New York ...

employment bureau

(Encyclopedia)employment bureau, a government-run establishment for bringing together the employer offering work and the employee seeking it. As a not-for-profit service, employment bureaus operate differently from...

Hatch, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Hatch, William Henry, 1833–96, U.S. Congressman (1879–95), b. Scott co., Ky. He was admitted (1854) to the bar and moved to Hannibal, Mo. He became prominent in Democratic politics in Missouri and...

Browse by Subject