Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Consumer Affairs, Office of

(Encyclopedia)Consumer Affairs, Office of, agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established 1971. The office advises and represents the president on matters of consumer interest, and analyzes and coordinates ...

Herrings, Battle of the

(Encyclopedia)Herrings, Battle of the, 1429, episode in the siege of Orléans by the English in the Hundred Years War. The French, under Jean, comte de Dunois, attacked a supply train commanded by Sir John Fastolf....

Gardner, Erle Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Gardner, Erle Stanley, 1889–1970, American detective-story writer, b. Malden, Mass. He served as a trial lawyer for many years. About 1921 he began writing detective stories for magazines; after tha...

King Horn

(Encyclopedia)King Horn, probably the earliest English-language romance, written c.1250 and containing about 1,500 lines. It is by an anonymous author and is based on an earlier work in French. Emphasizing action a...

Richthofen, Manfred, Baron von

(Encyclopedia)Richthofen, Manfred, Baron von mänˈfrāt [key], 1892–1918, German aviator in World War I. He was credited with the spectacular achievement of shooting down 80 aircraft; he was killed in action on ...

Butor, Michel

(Encyclopedia)Butor, Michel mēshĕlˈ bütôrˈ [key], 1926–2016, French novelist and critic. As one of the chief exponents of the nouveau roman [new novel] (see French literature), Butor was less interested in ...

septic tank

(Encyclopedia)septic tank, underground sedimentation tank in which sewage is retained for a short period while it is decomposed and purified by bacterial action. The organic matter in the sewage settles to the bott...

campaign, political

(Encyclopedia)campaign, political, organized effort to secure nomination and election of candidates for government offices. In the United States, the most important political campaigns are those for the nomination ...

Einthoven, Willem

(Encyclopedia)Einthoven, Willem vĭlˈəm īntˈhōvən [key], 1860–1927, Dutch physiologist, b. Java, M.D. Univ. of Utrecht, 1885. He was professor at the Univ. of Leiden from 1886. To measure the electric curre...

Heng Swee Keat

(Encyclopedia)Heng Swee Keat, 1961–, Singaporean political leader. A member of the People's Action party (PAP), he was secretary (1997–2000) to Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and head of Singapore's central bank ...