Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Belle Fourche

(Encyclopedia)Belle Fourche bĕl fo͞osh [key], river, c.290 mi (470 km) long, rising in NE Wyo., flowing NE and then E to the Cheyenne River in W S.Dak. The Belle Fourche project provides flood control and recreat...

sneeze gas

(Encyclopedia)sneeze gas, poison gas used in riot control and chemical warfare. It is highly irritating to the nose and throat; inhalation of the substance causes sneezing and coughing, but rarely causes permanent ...

Puteoli

(Encyclopedia)Puteoli pyo͞otēˈəlī [key], ancient city of Campania, S Italy, 8 mi (13 km) W of Naples. Founded c.520 b.c. by Samian Greeks from Cumae, it came under Roman control by the end of the 4th cent. b.c...

Rand Corporation

(Encyclopedia)Rand Corporation, research institution in Santa Monica, Calif.; founded 1948 and supported by federal, state, and local governments, as well as by foundations and corporations. Its principal fields of...

Bankhead, William Brockman

(Encyclopedia)Bankhead, William Brockman, 1874–1940, U.S. Representative from Alabama (1917–40), b. Lamar co., Ala. Chairman of the House rules committee (1934–35), Democratic floor leader (1935–36), and Sp...

Brazos

(Encyclopedia)Brazos brăzˈəs [key], river, 870 mi (1,410 km) long (1,210 mi/1,947 km long with its main tributary), rising in E N.Mex. From its source it flows SE across Texas to enter the Gulf of Mexico at Free...

Diocletian

(Encyclopedia)Diocletian (Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus) dīˈəklēˈshən [key], 245–313, Roman emperor (284–305), b. near Salona, Dalmatia (the modern Split, Croatia). Of humble birth, he obtained hig...

Domino, Fats

(Encyclopedia)Domino, Fats (Antoine Dominique Domino, Jr.), 1928–2017, American rhythm-and-blues singer, pianist, and songwriter of Creole descent, b. New Orleans, ...

Chateaubriand, François René, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Chateaubriand, François René, vicomte de fräNswäˈ rənāˈ vēkôNtˈ də shätōbrēäNˈ [key], 1768–1848, French writer. Chateaubriand was a founder of romanticism in French literature. Of n...

fetus

(Encyclopedia)fetus, term used to describe the unborn offspring in the uterus of vertebrate animals after the embryonic stage (see embryo). In humans, the fetal stage begins seven to eight weeks after fertilization...