Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ward, Lester Frank, 1841–1913, American sociologist and paleontologist, b. Joliet, Ill. Largely self-educated, he eventually took degrees in medicine and law. He worked as a government geologist and...

(Encyclopedia) Rietveld, Gerrit Thomas gĕrĭtˈ tōˈməs rētˈfĕlt [key], 1888–1965, Dutch architect and furniture designer. At first a cabinetmaker, Rietveld created (c.1917) a chair that was an important con...

(Encyclopedia) teff, annual plant, Eragrostis tef, of the grass family (Poaceoe), whose seeds are a staple grain in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is a gluten-free cereal grain, high in iron, protein, calcium, vitamin C, ...

(Encyclopedia) Baker, George Pierce, 1866–1935, American educator, b. Providence, R.I., grad. Harvard, 1887. He taught (1888–1924) in the English department at Harvard and there conceived and instituted (1906) t...

(Encyclopedia) Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin, 1831–1917, American journalist, author, and philanthropist, b. Hampton Falls, N.H., grad. Harvard, 1855. An active abolitionist, he was a friend and agent of John Brown, ...

(Encyclopedia) amphibole ămˈfəbōlˌ [key], any of a group of widely distributed rock-forming minerals, magnesium-iron silicates, often with traces of calcium, aluminum, sodium, titanium, and other elements. The ...

(Encyclopedia) cuttlefish, common name applied to cephalopod mollusks that have 10 tentacles, or arms, 8 of which have muscular suction cups on their inner surface and 2 that are longer and can shoot out for graspin...

(Encyclopedia) puma ko͞oˈgər [key], New World member of the cat family, Puma concolor. Also known as mountain lion, catamount, panther, and painter, it ranges from S British Columbia to the southern tip of South ...

(Encyclopedia) logwood, small, thorny tree (Haematoxylon campechianum) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) native to tropical America and introduced into other tropical regions. The brown-red heartwood is the s...

(Encyclopedia) Munro, Wilfred Harold, 1849–1934, American historian and educator, b. Bristol, R.I.; brother of Dana Carleton Munro. From 1870 to 1871 he was a master at De Veaux College, Niagara Falls, N.Y., where...