Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Vinson, Frederick Moore, 1890–1953, 13th chief justice of the United States (1946–53), b. Louisa, Ky. He received his law degree from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky (1911). He served (1923�...

(Encyclopedia) most-favored-nation clause (MFN), provision in a commercial treaty binding the signatories to extend trading benefits equal to those accorded any third state. The clause ensures equal commercial oppor...

(Encyclopedia) Djibouti jēbo͞otēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 383,000), capital of the Republic of Djibouti, a port on the Gulf of Tadjoura (an inlet of the Gulf of Aden). It is the nation's only sizable town an...

(Encyclopedia) Avoca or Ovoca əvōˈkə [key], river, c.15 mi (24 km) long, formed by the union of the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers, in Co. Wicklow, E Republic of Ireland. It flows SE to the Irish Sea at Arklow. The...

(Encyclopedia) Stein, William Howard, 1911–80, American biochemist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Columbia, 1937. Stein was a professor at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller Univ.) from 1937...

(Encyclopedia) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behav...

(Encyclopedia) Killarney, town (1991 pop. 7,274), Co. Kerry, SW Republic of Ireland. The town, which has mineral-water bottling, footwear, lace, hosiery, woolens, and ornamental ironwork industries, is also a touris...

(Encyclopedia) Georgia, University of, at Athens, Ga.; land-grant and state-supported; coeducational; chartered 1785 as the first state-supported university in the United States, opened 1801. The university's librar...

(Encyclopedia) Patterson, Floyd, 1935–2006, American boxer, b. Waco, N.C. He was brought up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was sent to the Wiltwyck School at Esopus, N.Y., an institution for emotionally disturbed boys, wh...

(Encyclopedia) Field, Michael, pseud. used by two English authors, Katherine Harris Bradley, 1846–1914, and her niece Edith Emma Cooper, 1862–1913, who collaborated on numerous literary works, including lyrics a...