Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

319 results found

Murphy, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Murphy, Frank, 1890–1949, American political figure, associate justice of the Supreme Court (1940–49), b. Harbor Beach, Mich. After serving as a U.S. attorney (1919–20) and as a judge of recorde...

Melun

(Encyclopedia)Melun məlöNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 36,489), capital of Seine-et-Marne dept., N central France, SE of Paris. It is an important industrial center where automobile bodies, airplane engines, leather ...

polyurethanes

(Encyclopedia)polyurethanes pŏlˌēyo͝orˈəthānz [key], group of plastics that may be either thermosetting or thermoplastic. Polyurethane can be made into both flexible and rigid foams. The flexible foam is oft...

Racine

(Encyclopedia)Racine rəsēnˈ [key], industrial city (1990 pop. 84,298), seat of Racine co., SE Wis., on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Root River; inc. 1848. It is a port of entry, and its manufactures includ...

racing

(Encyclopedia)racing: see horse racing; automobile racing; track and field athletics; dog racing; for boat racing, see motorboating; rowing; and sailing; and for bicycle racing, see under bicycle. ...

Hamtramck

(Encyclopedia)Hamtramck hămtrămˈĭk [key], city (2020 pop. 28,433), Wayne co., SE Mich., within the confines ...

ergonomics

(Encyclopedia)ergonomics, the engineering science concerned with the physical and psychological relationship between machines and the people who use them. The ergonomicist takes an empirical approach to the study o...

Fire Island

(Encyclopedia)Fire Island, barrier beach, 32 mi (52 km) long, off the south shore of Long Island, SE N.Y., separating Great South Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Robert Moses State Park is at its west end. Once access...

Woodcock, Leonard Freel

(Encyclopedia)Woodcock, Leonard Freel, 1911–2000, American labor leader, b. Providence, R.I. In 1933 he went to work as a machine assembler at the Detroit Gear and Machine Co., where he joined a union that became...

Bieber, Owen Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Bieber, Owen Frederick, 1929–2020, American labor leader, b. North Dorr, Mich. Active in the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from 1949, when he became a shop steward, he rose to become a regional di...

Browse by Subject