Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Columbia, U.S. space shuttle. On its 28th flight, on Feb. 1, 2003, after completing a 16-day scientific mission, the spacecraft disintegrated during reentry, killing its seven-person crew. About 16 mi...

(Encyclopedia) Birkbeck, George, 1776–1841, English educator. He established (1800–1804) in Glasgow a popular course of lectures for workingmen, which led to the founding of the Glasgow Mechanics' Institution in...

(Encyclopedia) Kilby, Jack St. Clair, 1923–2005, American electrical engineer, b. Jefferson City, Mo., B.S. Univ. of Illinois, 1947, M.S. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1950. In 1958, Kilby began working for Texas Instrument...

(Encyclopedia) Representation of the People Acts, statutes enacted by the British Parliament to continue the extension of the franchise begun by the Reform Bills (see under Reform Acts). As a result of the governmen...

(Encyclopedia) Narges Mohammadi, 1972– , b. Zanjan, Iran, Iranian human rights activist and author, studied at Imam Khomeini International University, also known as ...

(Encyclopedia) Denison Dam, 17,200 ft (5,243 m) long, on the Red River along the Texas–Okla. border, NW of Denison, Tex. The dam, built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers for flood control and hydroelectric power, was...

(Encyclopedia) Kingsville, city (1990 pop. 25,276), seat of Kleberg co., S Tex.; inc. 1911. It is headquarters of the gigantic King Ranch. The city is a processing center for cotton, livestock, vegetables, and dairy...

(Encyclopedia) Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

(Encyclopedia) Hand, Wayland Debs, 1907–86, folklorist, b. Auckland, New Zealand. Hand wrote Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina (1964), which is ranked among the finest published studies of supe...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Theobald, 1859–1934, American pathologist, b. Albany, N.Y., M.D. Albany Medical College, 1883. He was professor of bacteriology at Columbian (now George Washington) Univ. (1886–95) and of c...