Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

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...

honey locust

(Encyclopedia)honey locust, leguminous deciduous tree (Gleditsia triacanthos) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to the eastern half of the United States but planted as a shade tree in many regions of...

Gorgas, William Crawford

(Encyclopedia)Gorgas, William Crawford, 1854–1920, American disease and sanitation expert, surgeon general of the United States, b. Mobile, Ala., grad. Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1879. He served with the ...

froghopper

(Encyclopedia)froghopper or spittlebug, small, hopping insect of the order Homoptera. The adult, under 1⁄2 in. (1.2 cm) long in most species, is triangular in shape and usually gray or dull green to brown. Most f...

Jack Russell terrier

(Encyclopedia)Jack Russell terrier, breed of dog developed in the 19th cent. by an English clergyman, the Rev. John (Parson Jack) Russell, 1795–1883, for hunting. The Jack Russell resembles the fox terrier and, l...

Jindal, Bobby

(Encyclopedia)Jindal, Bobby, 1971–, American politician, b. Baton Rouge, La., as Piyush Jindal. The son of immigrants from India, he attended Brown Univ. (B.S., 1991) and thereafter was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford...

mudpuppy

(Encyclopedia)mudpuppy, common name for North American salamanders of the genus Necturus, found in rivers and streams throughout the E United States and SE Canada. The name derives from an erroneous belief that mud...

Office of Price Administration

(Encyclopedia)Office of Price Administration (OPA), U.S. federal agency in World War II, established to prevent wartime inflation. The OPA issued (Apr., 1942) a general maximum-price regulation that made prices cha...

pack rat

(Encyclopedia)pack rat, rodent of the genus Neotoma, of North and Central America, noted for its habit of collecting bright, shiny objects and leaving other objects, such as nuts or pebbles, in their place; also ca...

numbat

(Encyclopedia)numbat nŭmˈbăt [key], small marsupial, of SW Australia, also known as the marsupial anteater. The numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, resembles a squirrel in size and general appearance, but is adapted ...

Browse by Subject