Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sanger, Margaret Higgins

(Encyclopedia)Sanger, Margaret Higgins, 1879–1966, American leader in the birth control movement, b. Corning, N.Y. Personal experience and work as a public-health nurse, much of it on New York City's Lower East S...

herpes simplex

(Encyclopedia)herpes simplex hûrˈpēz [key], an acute viral infection of the skin characterized by one or more painful, itching blisters filled with clear fluid. It is caused by either of two herpes simplex virus...

Ecclestone, Bernie

(Encyclopedia)Ecclestone, Bernie (Bernard Charles Ecclestone), 1930–, English automobile racing executive. After a short career racing Formula Three cars in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he managed Formula One ...

Gros, Antoine-Jean, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Gros, Antoine-Jean, Baron äNtwänˈ zhäN bärôNˈgrō [key], 1771–1835, French painter. He studied with his father, a miniaturist, and with J.-L. David, whose classical theory he adopted. Napoleo...

tempering

(Encyclopedia)tempering, process involving slow and moderate heating to increase the hardness and toughness of metals that have undergone previous heat treatment. Metals are usually hardened (see hardening) by bein...

Altichiero da Zevio

(Encyclopedia)Altichiero da Zevio ältēkyāˈrō dä tsāvˈyō [key], c.1330–c.1395, Italian painter, follower of Giotto. He worked in Verona and then Padua. His frescoes in the churches of Sant' Antonio and Sa...

Abe, Shinzo

(Encyclopedia)Abe, Shinzo shēnˈzō äˈbā [key], 1954–2022, Japanese political leader. The son and grandson of politicians (his grandfather was Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi), he s...

chronic fatigue syndrome

(Encyclopedia)chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), collection of persistent, debilitating symptoms, the most notable of which is severe, lasting fatigue. It is also known as systemic ex...

Cushing, Luther Stearns

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, Luther Stearns, 1803–56, American lawyer, b. Lunenburg, Mass., grad. Harvard Law School, 1826. His best-known work is his short Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1844; many later editions),...

tartar emetic

(Encyclopedia)tartar emetic, poisonous, odorless, transparent rhombic crystals or white powder with a metallic, sweetish taste. Chemically, it is potassium antimony tartrate, KSbC4H4O7·1⁄2H2O. It is used as a mo...

Browse by Subject