Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) encephalitis ĕnsĕfˌəlīˈtəs [key], general term used to describe a diffuse inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, usually of viral origin, often transmitted by mosquitoes, in contrast to a b...

(Encyclopedia) Brent, outer borough of Greater London, SE England. The area is a rail and industrial center. Its manufactures include automobile parts, clocks and watc...

(Encyclopedia) McCormick, Robert Sanderson, 1849–1919, American diplomat, b. Rockbridge co., Va.; nephew of Cyrus Hall McCormick. President McKinley appointed (1901) him minister to Austria-Hungary. He became the ...

(Encyclopedia) Mutharika, Peter (Arthur Peter Mutharika) mo͞otäˈrēkä [key], 1940–, Malawian lawyer and political leader, LL.B. London Univ., 1965, J.S.D. Yale, 1969; brother of Bingu wa Mutharika. A professor...

(Encyclopedia) Banda, Joyce Hilda, 1950–, Malawian political leader, b. Nyasaland (now Malawi). First elected to parliament in 1999 as a member of the United Democratic Front, she was named minister for gender and...

(Encyclopedia) Brandeis University, at Waltham, Mass.; coeducational; chartered and opened 1948. Although Brandeis was founded by members of the American Jewish community, the university operates as an independent, ...

(Encyclopedia) Led Zeppelin, English pop music group formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page (1944–), singer Robert Plant (1948–), bassist John Paul Jones (1946–), and drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham (1948–80...

(Encyclopedia) Bouchard, Lucien lüsyăNˈ bo͞oshärˈ [key], 1938–, French-Canadian separatist leader, b. Quebec. A lawyer and a political ally of Brian Mulroney, Bouchard served under him as Canada's ambassador...

(Encyclopedia) Leawood lēˈwo͝od [key], city (1990 pop. 19,693), Johnson co., NE Kans., a suburb of Kansas City; inc. 1948. An agricultural trade center that has undergone major suburban development, it has busine...

(Encyclopedia) Hungry Horse Dam, 564 ft (172 m) high and 2,115 ft (645 m) long, NW Mont. on the southern fork of the Flathead River. A major unit in the development program for the Columbia River basin, it was built...