Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) American University, at Washington, D.C.; United Methodist; founded by Bishop J. F. Hurst, chartered 1893, opened in 1914. It was at first a graduate school; an undergraduate college was opened in 192...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Maryland mârˈələnd [key], one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bounded by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean (E), the District of Columbia (S), Virginia and West Virgi...

(Encyclopedia) lie detector, instrument designed to record bodily changes resulting from the telling of a lie. Cesare Lombroso, in 1895, was the first to utilize such an instrument, but it was not until 1914 and 191...

(Encyclopedia) McPherson, Aimee Semple ĕmāˈ, məkfûrˈsən [key], 1890–1944, U.S. evangelist, founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and, in the 1920s and 30s, one of the most famous wom...

(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer) mûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most accomplished wordsmiths, began...

(Encyclopedia) East Riding of Yorkshire, district and unitary authority, NE England. The district extends from the Yorkshire Wolds (N) to the River Humber (S) and from...

(Encyclopedia) Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892–1962, American physicist, b. Wooster, Ohio, grad. College of Wooster (B.S., 1913), Ph.D. Princeton, 1916. He was professor and head of the department of physics at Washin...

(Encyclopedia) Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard dălˈgrən [key], 1809–70, American naval officer, b. Philadelphia. Appointed a midshipman in 1826, he had a long and honorable naval career. In charge of ordnance a...

(Encyclopedia) Walter, Thomas Ustick, 1804–87, American architect, b. Philadelphia. In 1819 he entered the office of William Strickland in Philadelphia as a student. In 1830 he began practice, the county prison (1...

(Encyclopedia) Puryear, Martin, 1941–2019, American sculptor, b. Washington, D.C. An African American, he served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, and became interested in African crafts and in the themes of cap...