Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) guided missile, self-propelled, unmanned space or air vehicle carrying an explosive warhead. Its path can be adjusted during flight, either by automatic self-contained controls or remote human control...

(Encyclopedia) Crossfield, Scott (Albert Scott Crossfield), 1921–2006, American aviator, b. Berkeley, Calif. A fighter pilot and flight instructor in the navy (1942–46) during World War II, he studied aeronautic...

(Encyclopedia) Americus əmĕrˈĭkəs [key], city (2020 pop. 16,230), seat of Sumter co., SW Ga.; inc. 1855. It is a manufacturing city (polyurethane foam, furniture, and fertilizer), a...

(Encyclopedia) Kitty Hawk or Kittyhawk, part of an offshore sandbar on Cape Hatteras, NE N.C., E of Albemarle Sound. Nearby is Kill Devil Hill, where the Wright brothers experimented successfully (1900–1903) with ...

(Encyclopedia) Vörösmarty, Mihály mĭˈhälyə vöˈröshmŏrˌtē [key], 1800–1855, Hungarian poet. Considered one of the greatest Hungarian poets, he created a new poetic language and combined the characteris...

(Encyclopedia) Borschberg, André, 1952–, Swiss engineer, businessman, and pilot. With Bertrand Piccard (see under Piccard, Auguste) he founded Solar Impulse to develop a solar-powered plane capable of circumnavig...

(Encyclopedia) Calderón Bridge käldārōnˈ [key], site of a decisive battle in the Mexican revolution against Spain, fought on the Lerma River E of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. On Jan. 17, 1811, insurgents comma...

(Encyclopedia) Jones, Brian, 1947–, British balloonist, b. Bristol. A former Royal Air Force pilot, he entered the world of ballooning in the 1980s, and in 1997 became an organizer for the attempt of the British-b...

(Encyclopedia) White, Walter Francis, 1893–1955, American civil-rights leader, b. Atlanta, Ga., grad. Atlanta Univ., 1916. From 1931 until his death he was secretary of the National Association for the Advancement...

(Encyclopedia) Rukeyser, Muriel ro͞oˈkīsər [key], 1913–80, American poet, b. New York City. Her poetry expresses the beauty and passion in the confrontation between the individual and her constantly changing w...