Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Q, letter of the alphabet

(Encyclopedia)Q, 17th letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the koppa of western Greek alphabets. U must follow the letter in English (e.g., queen, question), and the combination properly represents a sound much...

Organization of the Islamic Conference

(Encyclopedia)Organization of the Islamic Conference: see Organization of Islamic Cooperation. ...

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

(Encyclopedia)Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: see Rap music. ...

Morelos

(Encyclopedia)Morelos mōrāˈlōs [key], state (1990 pop. 1,195,059), 1,917 sq mi (4,965 sq km), S Mexico. Cuernavaca is the capital. Morelos is separated from the Federal District and from Mexico state by the eas...

Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia, brother of Pepin the Short

(Encyclopedia)Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia after the death (741) of his father, Charles Martel. Ruling with his brother, Pepin the Short, he carried on successful wars against t...

respiratory syncytial virus

(Encyclopedia)respiratory syncytial virus sĭnsĭshˈəl [key]: see cold, common. ...

Wolf, Markus Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Wolf, Markus Johannes vôlf [key], 1923–2006, East German spymaster. A legendary cold-war espionage chief, he was called “the man without a face” because until 1978 there was no known photograp...

David, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)David, Elizabeth, 1914–92, English food writer, b. Elizabeth Gwynne. Daughter of a wealthy Conservative MP, she cut her culinary eyeteeth in Paris while studying at the Sorbonne, then developed her ...

Challenger

(Encyclopedia)Challenger, U.S. space shuttle. It exploded (Jan. 28, 1986) 73 seconds into its tenth flight, killing all seven crew members, including the first civilian in space, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Th...

Stone, I. F.

(Encyclopedia)Stone, I. F., 1907–89, American journalist, b. Philadelphia as Isidor Feinstein. Raised in New Jersey, he moved to New York City shortly after beginning his career as a journalist. Later moving to W...