Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

173 results found

Lacépède, Bernard Germain Étienne de la Ville, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Lacépède, Bernard Germain Étienne de la Ville, comte de bĕrnärˈ zhĕrmăNˈ ātyĕnˈ də lä vēl kôNt də läsāpĕdˈ [key], 1756–1825, French naturalist. As a youth he showed considerable...

Geological Survey, United States

(Encyclopedia)Geological Survey, United States, bureau organized in 1879 under the Dept. of the Interior to unify and centralize the work already undertaken by separate surveys under Clarence King, F. V. Hayden, Ge...

Ray, John

(Encyclopedia)Ray or Wray, John, 1627–1705, English naturalist. He was extremely influential in laying the foundations of systematic biology. With his pupil Francis Willughby, he planned a complete classification...

Putnam, Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Putnam, Herbert, 1861–1955, American librarian, b. New York City; son of George P. Putnam. He served as librarian at the Minneapolis Athenaeum (1884–87) and of the Minneapolis Public Library (1887...

games, children's

(Encyclopedia)games, children's, amusements or pastimes involving more than one child and in which there is some sort of formalized dramatic element, contest, or plot. Games are a cultural universal; for example, t...

petrology

(Encyclopedia)petrology, branch of geology specifically concerned with the origin, composition, structure, and properties of rocks, primarily igneous and metamorphic, and secondarily sedimentary. It includes petrog...

Paralympic games

(Encyclopedia)Paralympic games, series of international sports contests for athletes with physical, visual, and intellectual impairments. The games grew out of a gathering of British World War II veterans organized...

Brongniart, Alexandre

(Encyclopedia)Brongniart, Alexandre brôNyärˈ [key], 1770–1847, French geologist, mineralogist, and chemist. As director of the Sèvres porcelain factory from 1800, he was responsible for its international fam...

cloud

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Approximate heights of some types of clouds cloud, aggregation of minute particles of water or ice suspended in the air. Cloudiness (or proportion of the sky covered by any form of cloud),...

land tax

(Encyclopedia)land tax, impost levied upon real property. It is sometimes called a real estate tax, especially when assessed against both improved and unimproved land. Probably the earliest direct tax and formerly ...