Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mansfield, Michael Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, Michael Joseph, 1903–2001, U.S. senator (1953–77), b. New York City. After working (1922–31) as a mining engineer, he taught (1933–42) history at Montana State Univ. before serving ...

lily of the valley

(Encyclopedia)lily of the valley, common name for either of the two species of Convallaria, spring-blooming perennials of the family Liliaceae (lily family). C. majalis, the species usually in cultivation, is nativ...

savory

(Encyclopedia)savory, name for any plant of the genus Satureja, aromatic herbs and subshrubs of the family Labiatae (mint family). Commonly cultivated as border ornamentals or potherbs are two species of the Medite...

Salish

(Encyclopedia)Salish, indigenous people of North America, also known as the Flathead, who in the early 19th cent. inhabited the Bitterroot River valley of W Montana. Their language belongs to the Salishan branch of...

Hearst, George

(Encyclopedia)Hearst, George hûrst [key], 1820–91, American mining magnate, U.S. senator (1886–91), b. Franklin co., Mo. He went to California in 1850 and became a mining prospector and geologist. He successfu...

Fiedler, Leslie

(Encyclopedia)Fiedler, Leslie, 1917–2003, American critic, b. Newark, N.J., grad. New York Univ. (B.A. 1938), Univ. of Wisconsin (Ph.D. 1941). In his best-known and most controversial work, Love and Death in the ...

grayling

(Encyclopedia)grayling, common name for a brilliantly colored fish belonging to the genus Thymallus, of the family Salmonidae (salmon family), and closely allied to the smelt. Graylings are found chiefly in clear, ...

Unabomber

(Encyclopedia)Unabomber or Unabomer both: yo͞oˈnəbŏmˌər [key], name given by the FBI to the elusive perpetrator of a series of bombings (1975–95) in the United States that killed 3 and wounded 23. The targe...

Urey, Harold Clayton

(Encyclopedia)Urey, Harold Clayton yo͝orˈē [key], 1893–1981, American chemist, b. Walkerton, Ind., grad. Univ. of Montana (B.S., 1917), Ph.D. Univ. of California, 1923. He taught at Johns Hopkins (1924–29), ...

Wheeler, Burton Kendall

(Encyclopedia)Wheeler, Burton Kendall, 1882–1975, U.S. senator (1923–47), b. Hudson, Mass. He practiced law in Butte, Mont. Wheeler was (1911–13) a member of the state legislature and was appointed (1913) fed...
 

Browse by Subject