Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Maradona, Diego Armando, 1960–2020, Argentinian soccer star. A strong forward with spectacular abilities, superb dribbling skills, and great personal flair, he began his career as a teenager playing...

(Encyclopedia) Frank, Robert, 1924–2019, Swiss-American photographer and filmmaker, b. Zürich. He immigrated to the United States in 1947 and became a citizen in 1963. One of the 20th century's most influential p...

(Encyclopedia) hedonism hēˈdənĭzˌəm [key] [Gr.,=pleasure], the doctrine that holds that pleasure is the highest good. Ancient hedonism expressed itself in two ways: the cruder form was that proposed by Aristip...

(Encyclopedia) kapok kāˈpŏk, kăpˈək [key], name for a tropical tree of the family Bombacaceae (bombax family) and for the fiber (floss) obtained from the seeds in the ripened pods. The floss has been important...

(Encyclopedia) Snead, Sam (Samuel Jackson Snead) snēd [key], 1912–2002, American golfer, b. Ashwood, Va. An outstanding high school athlete, he turned to golf after injuring a hand as a football player. He attrac...

(Encyclopedia) Zanesville, city (1990 pop. 26,778), seat of Muskingum co., central Ohio, on the Muskingum River at its junction with the Licking River; inc. 1815. It is a trade and industrial center that manufacture...

(Encyclopedia) stun gun, hand-held electronic device that produces a high-voltage pulse that can immobilize a person for several minutes with no permanent damage in most cases. It is powered by ordinary batteries, w...

(Encyclopedia) proverb, short statement of wisdom or advice that has passed into general use. More homely than aphorisms, proverbs generally refer to common experience and are often expressed in metaphor, alliterati...

(Encyclopedia) veneer vənērˈ [key], thin leaf of wood applied with glue to a panel or frame of solid wood. The art of veneer developed with early civilization. It produces richly grained effects cheaply and is us...

(Encyclopedia) rudder, mechanism for steering an airplane or a ship. In ships it is a flat-surfaced structure hinged to the stern and controlled by a helm. When the ship is on a straight course, the rudder is in lin...