Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Poole, Ernest po͞ol [key], 1880–1950, American writer, b. Chicago, grad. Princeton, 1902. He was a magazine correspondent in Russia, France, and Germany before and during World War I. His best-know...

(Encyclopedia) springtail, common name for any of the minute, primitive six-legged arthropods of the order Collembola. The springtail is named for a springlike mechanism on the underside of the abdomen. When at rest...

(Encyclopedia) Brummell, Beau (George Bryan Brummell) brŭmˈəl [key], 1778–1840, English dandy and wit. Brummell was greatly admired for his fastidious appearance and confident manner. He was an intimate of the ...

(Encyclopedia) Martin, Steve, 1945–, American comedian, actor, and writer, b. Waco, Tex. An Emmy-winning television comedy writer in the late 1960s for the Smothers ...

(Encyclopedia) photochemistry, study of chemical processes that are accompanied by or catalyzed by the emission or absorption of visible light or ultraviolet radiation. A molecule in its ground (unexcited) state can...

(Encyclopedia) parimutuel betting părˌĭmyo͞oˈtyo͞oĕl [key], system of cooperative wagering invented (c.1870) in France by Pierre Oller. According to the system, the holders of winning tickets divide the total...

(Encyclopedia) Nördlingen nörtˈlĭngən [key], city (1994 pop. 19,615), Bavaria, S central Germany. It is a manufacturing center and a rail junction, with industries in paper, clothing, and precision instruments....

(Encyclopedia) Marsh, Othniel Charles, 1831–99, American paleontologist, b. Lockport, N.Y., grad. Yale, 1860. He studied abroad, and from 1866 served at Yale as the first professor of paleontology and as curator o...

(Encyclopedia) motel, public lodging establishment for automobile travelers. Motels have traditionally differed from hotels in that the former have facilities for free parking on the premises, are seldom more than t...

(Encyclopedia) Cary, Joyce (Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary), 1888–1957, English author. From 1910 to 1920 he served as an administrator and soldier in Nigeria. Several of his early works, including Mister Johnson (1939),...