Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Millikan, Robert Andrews

(Encyclopedia)Millikan, Robert Andrews mĭlˈĭkən [key], 1868–1953, American physicist and educator, b. Morrison, Ill., grad. Oberlin College, 1891, Ph.D. Columbia, 1895, studied in Germany. He taught (1896–1...

Lincoln, Mary Todd

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818–82, wife of Abraham Lincoln, b. Lexington, Ky. Of a good Kentucky family, she was living with her sister, daughter-in-law of Gov. Ninian Edwards of Illinois, in Springfield,...

Merton, Robert Carhart

(Encyclopedia)Merton, Robert Carhart, 1944–, American economist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970. He has taught at MIT (1970–88, 2010–) and Harvard (1988–2010). Merton in...

Philip I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Philip I, 1052–1108, king of France (1060–1108), son and successor of Henry I. He enlarged, by arms and by diplomacy, his small royal domain. In order to prevent the union of England and Normandy ...

parliamentary law

(Encyclopedia)parliamentary law, rules under which deliberative bodies conduct their proceedings. In English-speaking countries these are based on the practice of the British Parliament, chiefly in the House of Com...

Childers, Robert Erskine

(Encyclopedia)Childers, Robert Erskine chĭlˈdərz [key], 1870–1922, Irish politician and author. Born into a Protestant family, he was a clerk in the House of Commons (1895–1910). Gradually becoming convinced...

Giap, Vo Nguyen

(Encyclopedia)Giap, Vo Nguyen vô nəwēˈĕn zhäp [key], 1911–2013, Vietnamese military leader and government official whose strategies helped drive the forces of Japan, France, and the United States from Vietn...

Zollverein

(Encyclopedia)Zollverein tsôlˈfərīnˈ [key] [Ger.,=customs union], in German history, a customs union established to eliminate tariff barriers. Friedrich List first popularized the idea of a combination to abol...

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, New York City, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. Completed in 1936 and originally named the Triborough Bridge, it comprises three separate sections...

Sherriff, Robert Cedric

(Encyclopedia)Sherriff, Robert Cedric, 1896–1975, English dramatist. His best-known work is the play, Journey's End (1929), a realistic story about combat in World War I. His other dramas include St. Helena (with...
 

Browse by Subject