Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

325 results found

gold rush

(Encyclopedia)gold rush, influx of prospectors, merchants, adventurers, and others to newly discovered gold fields. One of the most famous of these stampedes in pursuit of riches was the California gold rush. The d...

Nipah virus

(Encyclopedia)Nipah virus, RNA virus of the genus Henipavirus, family Paramyxoviridae, that rarely infects humans but can cause deadly encephalitis. In humans, the virus typically incubates for 4 to 14 days before ...

nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug

(Encyclopedia)nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a drug that suppresses inflammation in a manner similar to steroids, but without the side effects of steroids; commonly referred to by the acronym NSAID ĕnˈsĕd ...

Masefield, John

(Encyclopedia)Masefield, John mās– [key], 1878–1967, English poet. He went to sea as a youth and later spent several years in the United States. In 1897 he returned to England and was on the staff of the Manch...

Le Clézio, Jean-Marie Gustave

(Encyclopedia)Le Clézio, Jean-Marie Gustave, 1940–, French novelist, b. Nice, grad. Univ. of Nice (L. ès L., 1963), Univ. of Aix-en-Provence (M.A., 1964), Univ. of Perpignan (D. ès L., 1983). He spent much of ...

Benalcázar, Sebastián de

(Encyclopedia)Benalcázar or Belalcázar, Sebastián de sābästyänˈ dā bānälkäˈthär, bāläl– [key], c.1479–1551, Spanish conquistador. After accompanying Columbus on his third voyage (1498), Benalcáz...

Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, 3d earl of rŏtˈslē [key], 1573–1624, English nobleman and patron of letters. He succeeded to his title in 1581, was educated at Cambridge, and gained favor at the ...

serum sickness

(Encyclopedia)serum sickness, hypersensitive response that occurs after injection of a large amount of foreign protein. The condition is named for the serum taken from horses or other animals immunized against a pa...

Rush, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Rush, Benjamin, 1745?–1813, American physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Byberry (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton, 1760), M.D. Univ. o...

Perry, Oliver Hazard

(Encyclopedia)Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785–1819, American naval officer, b. South Kingstown, R.I.; brother of Matthew Calbraith Perry. Appointed a midshipman in 1799, he served in the Tripolitan War, was promoted t...