Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) White, Robert Michael, 1924–2010, American aviator, b. New York City. A fighter pilot during World War II, he was shot down over Germany and held in a prisoner-of-war camp (Feb.–Apr, 1945); he was...

(Encyclopedia) elevation, vertical distance from a datum plane, usually mean sea level to a point above the earth. Often used synonymously with altitude, elevation is the height on the earth's surface and altitude, ...

(Encyclopedia) Greenbelt, city (2020 pop. 24,921), Prince Georges co., W central Md., a residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; chartered 1937. Greenbelt was planned a...

(Encyclopedia) gravitation, the attractive force existing between any two particles of matter. The term gravitygravity is commonly used synonymously with gravitation, but in correct usage a definite distinction is...

(Encyclopedia) SETI sĕtˈē [key] [Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence], name given to a series of independent programs to detect radio signals from civilizations beyond the solar system. Modern SETI efforts c...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 French Guiana gēănˈə, –änˈ– [key], Fr. La Guyane française, officially Department of Guiana, French overseas department (2015 est. pop. 269,000), 35,135 sq mi (91,000 sq km), NE Sout...

(Encyclopedia) Brooklyn Academy of Music, performing arts center located in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. and popularly known as BAM. Founded in 1859 and opened in 1861, it is the oldest such institution still in op...

(Encyclopedia) Bordone, Paris päˈrēs bōrdôˈnā [key], 1500–1571, Venetian painter of the Renaissance; pupil of Titian. Skillful in his use of color, he was particularly interested in variations of texture in...

(Encyclopedia) Chirico, Giorgio de jōrˈjō dā kēˈrēkō [key], 1888–1978, Italian painter, b. Vólos, Greece. Chirico developed his enigmatic vision in Munich and Italy and from 1911 to 1915 he worked and exh...

(Encyclopedia) Courrèges, André äNdrāˈ ko͞or-rĕzhˈ [key], 1923–2016, French fashion designer whose designs were especially popular and influential during the 1960s. He worked for the couturier Cristóbal B...