Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) bicycle racing or cycling, an internationally popular sport conducted on closed courses or the open road. Track racing takes place at a velodrome, usually a banked 1,093.6 ft (.333 km) oval. Olympic m...

(Encyclopedia) Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David Salinger) sălˈĭnjər [key], 1919–2010, American novelist and short-story writer, b. New York City. His considerable literary stature rests on a small but extremely i...

(Encyclopedia) John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

(Encyclopedia) Scorsese, Martin skôrsāˈzē, –sĕzˈē [key], 1942–, American film director; b...

(Encyclopedia) baby boom, a period in which the birthrate is significantly higher than in other periods, especially the post–World War II period in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the Uni...

(Encyclopedia) Moravian Church, Renewed Church of the Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum yo͞onēˈtäs fräˈtro͝om [key], an evangelical Christian communion whose adherents are sometimes called United Brethren or Herrn...

(Encyclopedia) duel, prearranged armed fight with deadly weapons, usually swords or pistols, between two persons concerned with a point of honor. The duel may have originated in the wager of battle, an early mode of...

(Encyclopedia) Cincinnati sĭnsənătˈē, –nătˈə [key], city (2020 pop. 309,317), seat of Hami...

(Encyclopedia) Formula One (F1), type of racecar used in Grand Prix automobile racing. Capable of speeds exceeding 230 mph (370 kph), the technologically sophisticated F1 cars are low-slung, open-wheeled, single-sea...

(Encyclopedia) XYZ Affair, name usually given to an incident (1797–98) in Franco-American diplomatic relations. The United States had in 1778 entered into an alliance with France, but after the outbreak of the Fre...