Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

tartar, dental

(Encyclopedia)tartar, dental, precipitate of saliva that accumulates around teeth at the gum line. Composed primarily of calcium salts, tartar forms as a hard brownish substance that irritates gums and causes them ...

Arboleda, Julio

(Encyclopedia)Arboleda, Julio ho͞oˈlyō ärbōlāˈᵺä [key], 1817–61, Colombian poet and politician. A powerful political force, he was for a time imprisoned and then exiled. He returned to lead a revolt (18...

Humbert I

(Encyclopedia)Humbert I, 1844–1900, king of Italy (1878–1900), son and successor of Victor Emmanuel II. A soldier by training, Humbert showed interest primarily in military affairs and foreign policy, and early...

Jaén

(Encyclopedia)Jaén häānˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 109,338), capital of Jaén prov., S Spain, in Andalusia. It is a marketing and distribution center for a fertile area producing olive oil and wine. Nearby lead mi...

Alfaro, Flavio Eloy

(Encyclopedia)Alfaro, Flavio Eloy fläˈvyō āloiˈ älfäˈrō [key], 1867–1912, president of Ecuador (1897–1901, 1907–11). Regarded as a champion of liberalism, Alfaro introduced legal and economic reforms...

Eifel

(Encyclopedia)Eifel īˈfəl [key], undulating plateau, W Germany, N of the Moselle River and E of the Ardennes. The Eifel forms the northwestern part of the Rhenish Slate Mts. and is a barren area characterized by...

gargoyle

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Gargoyle gargoyle gärˈgoil [key], waterspout used in medieval Europe to draw rainwater from church and cathedral roofs. Gargoyles were fashioned imaginatively in the form of human grotesques...

Bradbury, William Batchelder

(Encyclopedia)Bradbury, William Batchelder băchˈəldər [key], 1816–68, American hymn composer and music editor, b. York, Maine; pupil of Lowell Mason. He organized the Juvenile Music Festivals in New York, and...

Vaygach

(Encyclopedia)Vaygach or Vaigach both: vīgächˈ [key], island, 1,312 sq mi (3,398 sq km), Nenets Autonomous Area, off NE European Russia, in the Arctic Ocean, between the mainland and Novaya Zemlya. A continuatio...

Leloir, Luis Federico

(Encyclopedia)Leloir, Luis Federico, 1906–87, Argentine biochemist, b. France, M.D. Univ. of Buenos Aires, 1932, Ph.D. Leloir was a researcher at the Univ. of Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1943. He then taught briefl...
 

Browse by Subject