Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ross, Sir James Clark, 1800–1862, British polar explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he accompanied his uncle, Sir John Ross, in search of the Northwest Passage and commanded the Erebus. He later stud...

(Encyclopedia) Wood, Grant, 1891–1942, American painter, b. Anamosa, Iowa, studied Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. He experimented with an impressionist style in Paris, but in Munich in 1928 he was decisive...

(Encyclopedia) mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

(Encyclopedia) diffusion, in chemistry, the spontaneous migration of substances from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low. Diffusion is important in many life process...

(Encyclopedia) Lee, Charles, 1731–82, American Revolutionary army officer, b. Cheshire, England. He first came to America to serve in the French and Indian War and took part in General Braddock's disastrous campai...

(Encyclopedia) Wegener, Alfred Lothar älˈfrĕt lōtärˈ vĕgˈənər [key], 1880–1930, German geologist, meteorologist, and Arctic explorer. Early in his life, he was on the staff of the aeronautical observator...

(Encyclopedia) Gates, Horatio, c.1727–1806, American Revolutionary general, b. Maldon, Essex, England. Entering the British army at an early age, he fought in America in the French and Indian War and served in the...

(Encyclopedia) Noguchi, Isamu ēsäˈmo͞o nōgo͞oˈchē [key], 1904–88, American sculptor, b. Los Angeles. The son of a Japanese poet father and an American mother, he was a student of Gutzon Borglum and won Gug...

(Encyclopedia) Comstock Lode, richest known U.S. silver deposit, W Nevada, on Mt. Davidson in the Virginia Range. It is said to have been discovered in 1857 by Ethan Allen Grosh and Hosea Ballou Grosh, sons of a Pen...

(Encyclopedia) Riefenstahl, Leni (Berta Helene Amalie Riefenstahl) lāˈnē rēˈfənshtälˌ, bĕrˈtə hālāˈnə ämälˈyə [key], 1902–2003, German filmmaker, b. Berlin. First a dancer, then an actress, she ...