Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

131 results found

Kite, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Kite, Tom (Thomas O. Kite, Jr.), 1949–, American golfer, b. Austin, Tex. The 1973 Professional Golfers Association Rookie of the Year, he was also the 1989 Player of the Year. He won the 1992 U.S. O...

tom-tom

(Encyclopedia)tom-tom, name popularly applied to high-pitched hand drums, usually barrel-shaped and having either one or two drumheads of skin. They are tunable to specific pitches. Supposedly of Native American or...

Tom

(Encyclopedia)Tom tôm [key], river, c.525 mi (840 km) long, rising in the Alatau range, S Siberian Russia. It flows N through the Kuznetsk Basin past Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, and Tomsk into the Ob River. It is navi...

kite, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)kite, in zoology, common name for a bird of the family Accipitridae, which also includes the hawk. Kites are found near water and marshes in warm parts of the world. They prey chiefly on reptiles, fro...

DeLay, Tom

(Encyclopedia)DeLay, Tom (Thomas Dale DeLay), 1947–, American politician, b. Laredo, Tex., grad. Univ. of Houston (B.S., 1970). A conservative Republican businessman, he entered politics (1979) as a Texas state l...

Daschle, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Daschle, Tom (Thomas Andrew Daschle) dăshˈəl [key], 1947–, U.S. senator from South Dakota (1987–2005), b. Aberdeen, S.Dak. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 197...

Clancy, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Clancy, Tom (Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr.), 1947–2013, American popular novelist, b. Baltimore, grad. Loyola Univ. Maryland (B.A., 1969). While working as an insurance agent he wrote The Hunt for Red Octo...

Hanks, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Hanks, Tom, 1956–, American film actor, b. Concord, Calif., as Thomas Jeffrey Hanks. In 1980 he acted in his first film, and in 1980–82 he co-starred in a television sitcom. Hanks subsequently app...

Ford, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Ford, Tom (Thomas Carlyle Ford), 1961–, American fashion designer and film director, b. Austin, Tex. After designing for Kathy Hardwick (1986–88) and Perry Ellis (1988–90), he moved to Milan and...

Mann, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Mann, Tom, 1856–1941, British labor leader and socialist. He was an organizer of the 1889 London dock strike, which was an important step in the unionization of unskilled English laborers. Secretary...