Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

(Encyclopedia) berkelium bûrˈklēəm [key] [from Berkeley], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Bk; at. no. 97; mass no. of most stable isotope 247; m.p. about 1,050℃; b.p. about 2,590℃;...

(Encyclopedia) Széll, Kálmán kälˈmän sāl [key], 1845–1915, Hungarian premier (1899–1903). A close associate of Deak, he was a deputy from 1867, minister of finance (1875–78), and later premier. ...

(Encyclopedia) funny bone, highly sensitive area at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve passes close to the surface of the skin in a groove between end prominences of the humerus (the upper arm bone) and the...

(Encyclopedia) Bourguiba, Habib häˈbēb bo͝orgēˈbə [key], 1903–2000, Tunisian statesman, president of Tunisia (1957–87), b. Monastir. Early active in the Destour party, he was at first an advocate of close...

(Encyclopedia) Heller, Stephen shtĕfˈən [key], 1814–88, French pianist and composer, b. Budapest. Heller toured as a piano virtuoso, ruining his health before settling in Paris in 1838. There he developed close...

(Encyclopedia) Miamisburg mīămˈēzbûrgˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 17,834), Montgomery co., SW Ohio, on the Miami River; laid out 1818, inc. 1932. It is a tobacco market with diverse agriculture, and metal and pape...

(Encyclopedia) Voznesensky, Andrei Andreyevich əndrāˈ əndrāˈəvĭch vəznyəsyānˈskē [key], 1933–2010, Russian poet, b. Moscow. Voznesensky studied at the Moscow Architectural Institute and later became a...

(Encyclopedia) bee fly, name for the small- to medium-sized flies of the family Bombyliidae, many of which resemble bees in appearance and behavior. This mimicry provides bee flies with some measure of protection ag...

(Encyclopedia) Díaz Ordaz, Gustavo go͞ostäˈvō dēˈäs ōrˈdäs [key], 1911–79, president of Mexico (1964–70). A lawyer, law professor, and judge, he served in both houses of the federal legislature and wa...