Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Goering or Göring, Hermann Wilhelm both: hĕrˈmän vĭlˈhĕlm göˈrĭng [key], 1893–1946, German National Socialist leader. In World War I he was a hero of the German air force. An early member ...

(Encyclopedia) National Guard, U.S. militia. The militia is authorized by the Constitution of the United States, which also defines the militia's functions and the federal and state role. Article 1, Section 8 provid...

(Encyclopedia) pelican, common name for a large, gregarious aquatic bird of warm regions, allied to the cormorants and gannets. Pelicans are heavy-bodied, long-necked birds with large, flat bills. They are graceful ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Types of jet engines: In the propeller-driven turbine a stream of high-velocity gases provides the power to drive the turbine and turn the propeller. In the jet-driven turbine the stream of gas...

(Encyclopedia) extraterritoriality or exterritoriality, privilege of immunity from local law enforcement enjoyed by certain aliens. Although physically present upon the territory of a foreign nation, those aliens po...

(Encyclopedia) community college, public institution of higher education. Community colleges are characterized by a two-year curriculum that leads to either the associate degree or transfer to a four-year college. T...

(Encyclopedia) Fay, Frank, 1870–1931, and W. G. Fay, 1872–1947, brothers, both Irish actors. The Fay brothers formed the Irish National Theatre, an amateur group founded on the conviction that only Irish actors ...

(Encyclopedia) cotton gin, machine for separating cotton fibers from the seeds. The charkha, used in India from antiquity, consists of two revolving wooden rollers through which the fibers are drawn, leaving the see...

(Encyclopedia) chart, term referring to maps prepared for marine navigation and for air navigation. All charts show, in some convenient scale, geographic features useful to the navigator, as well as indications of d...

(Encyclopedia) Wagner, Robert Ferdinand wăgˈnər [key], 1877–1953, American legislator, b. Germany. He arrived with his family in the United States in 1885 and grew up in poor surroundings in New York City. Afte...