Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kölreuter, Joseph Gottlieb

(Encyclopedia)Kölreuter or Koelreuter, Joseph Gottlieb both: yōˈzĕf gôtˈlēp kölˈroiˌtər [key], 1733–1806, German botanist. In 1764 he became professor of natural history and director of the botanical g...

port, harbor

(Encyclopedia)port, a natural or artificial harbor and its terminal facilities for the transfer of goods and passengers to or from waterborne means of transport. Port cities are located on oceans, lakes, rivers, an...

peddler

(Encyclopedia)peddler or hawker, itinerant vendor of small goods. In rural America peddlers carried their packs or drove a horse and cart from door to door. While the importance of peddlers to the small American co...

Rore, Cipriano de

(Encyclopedia)Rore, Cipriano de sēprēäˈnō dā rōˈrə [key], c.1516–65, Flemish composer. Much of his mature life was spent in Italy, where his some 120 madrigals, for four and five voices, were admired and...

belt

(Encyclopedia)belt, girdle or band worn around the body, originally to confine loose garments. Later the girdle became a decorative accessory and was used to carry belongings. The Greeks and Romans wore ornamental ...

Bowne, Borden Parker

(Encyclopedia)Bowne, Borden Parker boun [key], 1847–1910, American philosopher, b. Monmouth co., N.J. In 1876 he became head of the department of philosophy at Boston Univ. and later served as dean of the graduat...

Guanajuato, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Guanajuato gwänähwäˈtō [key], state, 11,805 sq mi (30,575 sq km), W central Mexico, on the ...

Limón

(Encyclopedia)Limón lēmōnˈ [key], city (1995 est. pop. 55,866), capital of Limón prov., Costa Rica, on the Caribbean Sea. Once the leading port of Costa Rica, it has been superseded by Moín. Limón gained imp...

Heymans, Corneille

(Encyclopedia)Heymans, Corneille kôrnāˈyə hīˈmäns [key], 1892–1968, Belgian physiologist. His contributions to the physiology of circulation include a study of the sensory mechanism through which arterial ...

Tout, Thomas Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Tout, Thomas Frederick tout [key], 1855–1929, English historian. Educated at Oxford, he taught at the Univ. of Manchester from 1890 to 1925. Considered an outstanding authority on medieval history, ...

Browse by Subject