Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) shrike or butcher bird, predatory songbird found in most parts of the world except Australia and South America. The plumage of the European and North American species is mostly gray, black, and white;...

(Encyclopedia) Swakopmund sfäˈkôpmənt [key], municipality (1991 pop. 17,681), W Namibia, on the Atlantic at mouth of Swakop River. A rail terminus and seaside resort surrounded by the Namib desert, the town was ...

(Encyclopedia) Robert I, c.865–923, French king (922–23), son of Count Robert the Strong and younger brother of King Eudes. He inherited from Eudes the territory between the Seine and the Loire rivers. In 922, R...

(Encyclopedia) Samson, in the Bible, judge of Israel. His long hair was a symbol of his vows to God, and because of this covenant Samson was strong. The enemies of his people, the Philistines, accomplished his destr...

(Encyclopedia) epoxy resins, group of synthetic resins used to make plastics and adhesives. These materials are noted for their versatility, but their relatively high cost has limited their use. High resistance to c...

(Encyclopedia) Gnassingbé, Faure Essozimna, 1966–, Togolese political leader, president of Togo, (2005–), b. Afagnan. The son of President Gnassingbé Eyadèma, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and at George...

(Encyclopedia) Hadley, Arthur Twining, 1856–1930, American economist and educator, b. New Haven, Conn.; son of James Hadley. A graduate (1876) of Yale, he was on the faculty (1879–99) and later was president (18...

(Encyclopedia) Grévy, Jules zhül grāvēˈ [key], 1807–91, French statesman, president of France (1879–87). As a republican deputy after the February Revolution (1848), he sought to eliminate the danger of a s...

(Encyclopedia) land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering prog...

(Encyclopedia) McCullers, Carson, 1917–67, American novelist, b. Columbus, Ga. as Lula Carson Smith, studied at Columbia. The central theme of her novels is the spiritual isolation that underlies the human conditi...