Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Cottrell, Leonard Eric

(Encyclopedia)Cottrell, Leonard Eric kŏˈtrəl, kətrĕlˈ [key], 1913–74, British author. He was a commentator, writer, and producer for the British Broadcasting Corporation until 1960, when he resigned to devo...

cough

(Encyclopedia)cough, sudden, forceful expiration of air from the lungs caused by an involuntary contraction of the muscles controlling the process of breathing. The cough is a response to some irritating condition ...

Merrill, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Merrill, Robert, 1917–2004, American baritone, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Moishe Miller. In 1945 he won the Metropolitan Opera's Auditions of the Air and in the same year made his debut as Germont in Ver...

Peru, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Peru pəro͞oˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 12,843), seat of Miami co., N Ind., on the Wabash River; inc. 1847. It is a trade, processing, and rail center for a fertile agricultural area. Among its product...

Papin, Denis

(Encyclopedia)Papin, Denis dənēˈ päpăNˈ [key], 1647–1712?, French physicist and inventor. He was an assistant of Christian Huygens and of Robert Boyle and was professor of mathematics at the Univ. of Marbur...

liquefied petroleum gas

(Encyclopedia)liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, mixture of gases, chiefly propane and butane, produced commercially from petroleum and stored under pressure to keep it in a liquid state. The boiling point of liquefie...

indigestion

(Encyclopedia)indigestion or dyspepsia, discomfort during or after eating caused by some interference with the normal digestive process. Symptoms include nausea, heartburn, abdominal pain, gas distress, and a feeli...

Jones, Brian

(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...

Guilin

(Encyclopedia)Guilin or Kweilin both: gwā-lĭnˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 707,200), N Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, S China, on the Li River. It is a transportation center, with connections by rail, river, ...

Glasgow, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Glasgow. <1> City (2020 pop. 15,014), seat of Barren co., S central Ky.; inc. 1799. It is an agricultural trade center that relies on dairy, ...