Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) flame, phenomenon associated with the chemical reaction of a gas that has been heated above its kindling temperature with some other gas, usually atmospheric oxygen (see combustion). The heat and ligh...

(Encyclopedia) Mount Stephen, George Stephen, 1st Baron, 1829–1921, Canadian financier and railroad builder, b. Scotland. He emigrated to Canada in 1850, became a manufacturer, and was (1876–81) president of the...

(Encyclopedia) Peacock, Thomas Love, 1785–1866, English novelist and poet. He was employed by the East India Company from 1819 to 1856, serving as its chief examiner the final 20 years. Peacock's novels, comic and...

(Encyclopedia) malnutrition, insufficiency of one or more nutritional elements necessary for health and well-being. Primary malnutrition is caused by the lack of essential foodstuffs—usually vitamins, minerals, or...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Jack (John Arthur Johnson), 1878–1946, American boxer, b. Galveston, Tex., the son of two ex-slaves. Emerging from the battle royals (dehumanizing fights between blacks for the amusement of...

(Encyclopedia) tannin, tannic acid, or gallotannic acid, astringent vegetable product found in a wide variety of plants. Sources include the bark of oak, hemlock, chestnut, and mangrove; the leaves of certain sumac...

(Encyclopedia) electric shock, effect of the passage of a current of electricity through the body. Fatality may result from shocks of from 1 to 2 amperes and 500 to 1,000 volts. However, the effect of electric shock...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander, Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis lĕfˈrĭk [key], 1891–1969, British field marshal. His long military career began with service in World War I, followed by a per...

(Encyclopedia) Lytton, Victor Alexander George Robert Lytton, 2d earl of, 1871–1947, British diplomat, son of Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st earl of Lytton. He was undersecretary of state for India (1920–22) a...

(Encyclopedia) Clinton, George, 1739–1812, American statesman, vice president of the United States (1805–1812), b. Little Britain, N.Y. Before he was 20 he served on a privateer and, in the French and Indian War...