Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Molina, Mario (Mario José Molina-Pasquel y Henríquez), 1943–2020, Mexican chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1972. Molina was a professor at the Univ. of California, Irvine from 1975 to...

(Encyclopedia) spore, term applied both to a resistant or resting stage occurring among various unicellular organisms (especially bacteria) and to an asexual reproductive cell produced by many unicellular plants and...

(Encyclopedia) Lutheranism, branch of Protestantism that arose as a result of the Reformation, whose religious faith is based on the principles of Martin Luther, although he opposed such a designation. When Luther r...

(Encyclopedia) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and seg...

(Encyclopedia) Cobden, Richard kŏbˈdən [key], 1804–65, British politician, a leading spokesman for the Manchester school. He made a fortune as a calico printer in Manchester. A firm believer in free trade, afte...

(Encyclopedia) histology hĭstŏlˈəjē [key], study of the groups of specialized cells called tissues that are found in most multicellular plants and animals. Histologists study the organization of tissues at all ...

(Encyclopedia) Bright, John, 1811–89, British statesman and orator. He was the son of a Quaker cotton manufacturer in Lancashire. A founder (1839) of the Anti-Corn Law League, he rose to prominence on the strength...

(Encyclopedia) bog, very old lake without inlet or outlet that becomes acid and is gradually overgrown with a characteristic vegetation (see swamp). Peat moss, or sphagnum, grows around the edge of the open water of...

(Encyclopedia) Dravidian languages drəvĭdˈēən [key], family of about 23 languages that appears to be unrelated to any other known language family. The Dravidian languages are spoken by more than 200 million peo...

(Encyclopedia) Kronshtadt or Cronstadt both: krənshtätˈ [key], city, NW European Russia, on the small island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland, c.15 mi (20 km) from Saint Petersburg. It is one of the chief naval b...