Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Galt, Sir Alexander Tilloch

(Encyclopedia)Galt, Sir Alexander Tilloch tĭlˈək gôlt [key], 1817–93, Canadian statesman, b. England; son of John Galt. In 1835 he went to Canada in the service of the British American Land Company. He direct...

asbestos, mineral

(Encyclopedia)asbestos, common name for any of a variety of silicate minerals within the amphibole and serpentine groups that are fibrous in structure and more or less resistant to acid and fire. Chrysotile asbesto...

Locofocos

(Encyclopedia)Locofocos lōˌkōfōˈkōz [key], name given in derision to the members of a faction that split off from the Democratic party in New York in 1835. Tension had been growing between radical Democrats, ...

Taylor, John, American political philosopher

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, John, 1753–1824, American political philosopher. Known as John Taylor of Caroline, he was born in Virginia, probably in Caroline co., where he later lived at “Hazlewood.” Orphaned at 10,...

Urquiza, Justo José de

(Encyclopedia)Urquiza, Justo José de ho͞oˈstō hōsāˈ ᵺā o͞orkēˈsä [key], 1801–70, Argentine general and politician, president of the confederation (1854–60). As the caudillo of Entre Ríos prov., h...

Hitchcock, Ethan Allen

(Encyclopedia)Hitchcock, Ethan Allen, 1835–1909, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1898–1907), b. Mobile, Ala. He was appointed minister to Russia in 1897 but was called into McKinley's cabinet the next year. Und...

Tennessee State University

(Encyclopedia)Tennessee State University, at Nashville; coeducational; land-grant and state supported; est. 1912 as Tennessee Agriculture & Industrial State Normal School for Negroes; attained university status...

Irigoyen, Hipólito

(Encyclopedia)Irigoyen, Hipólito ēpōˈlētō ērēgōˈyān [key], 1850?–1933, Argentine political leader, president of the republic (1916–22, 1928–30). In 1896 he became the leader of the Radicals, a bour...

Moley, Raymond Charles

(Encyclopedia)Moley, Raymond Charles mōˈlē [key], 1886–1975, American political economist, b. Berea, Ohio, grad. Baldwin-Wallace College, 1906, Ph.D. Columbia, 1918. He taught at Western Reserve Univ. (1916–...

weather satellite

(Encyclopedia)weather satellite, artificial satellite used to gather data on a global basis for improvement of weather forecasting. Information includes cloud cover, storm location, temperature, and heat balance in...