Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Lorentz contraction lôrˈĕnts [key], in physics, contraction or foreshortening of a moving body in the direction of its motion, proposed by H. A. Lorentz on theoretical grounds and based on an earli...

(Encyclopedia) Sherrington, Sir Charles Scott, 1857–1952, English neurophysiologist, educated at Cambridge. He was professor of physiology at the universities of Liverpool and London and at Oxford. He contributed ...

(Encyclopedia) Bodley, George Frederick bŏdˈlē [key], 1827–1907, English architect. One of the most prominent and prolific ecclesiastical architects, Bodley was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott. A friend of ...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Matthew Gregory, 1775–1818, English author, b. London. In addition to his writing he pursued a diplomatic career and served for a time in Parliament. He was often called “Monk” Lewis from...

(Encyclopedia) letters, in literature, written messages, ranging from those addressed to the public and those sent from lover to lover, to business letters and thank-you notes. The common quality they share is a liv...

(Encyclopedia) Wilson, Edmund, 1895–1972, American critic and author, b. Red Bank, N.J. grad. Princeton, 1916. He is considered one of the most important American literary and social critics of the 20th cent. From...

(Encyclopedia) de Klerk, F. W. (Frederik Willem de Klerk) frĕdˈərĭk vĭlˈəm də klûrkˈ ...

(Encyclopedia) Radcliffe, Ann (Ward), 1764–1823, English novelist, b. London. The daughter of a successful tradesman, she married William Radcliffe, a law student who later became editor of the English Chronicle. ...

(Encyclopedia)  Bailey, F. Lee (Francis Lee Bailey), 1933-2021, American lawyer, b. Waltham, Ma., Boston Univ. Law School (J.D., 1960). Bailey attended Harvard for two...