Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Malmstrom Air Force Base

(Encyclopedia)Malmstrom Air Force Base mälmˈstrəm, mălmˈ– [key], U.S. military installation, 3,573 acres (1,446 hectares), W central Mont., E of Great Falls; est. 1942. During World War II, it was the takeof...

White Sands

(Encyclopedia)White Sands, uninhabited desert area, S central N.Mex. It is a center for U.S. military-weapons research and testing. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded at Holloman Air Force Base (f...

Hijuelos, Oscar Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Hijuelos, Oscar Jerome ēhwāˈlōs [key], 1951–2013, Cuban-American novelist, b. New York City, grad. City College (B.A., 1975; M.F.A., 1976). The son of Cuban immigrants, he typically wrote about ...

Alonso, Alicia

(Encyclopedia)Alonso, Alicia älēˈsyä älōnˈsō [key], 1921–2019, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, b. Havana as Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez y del Hoyo. Alonso danced in Broadway musi...

Arguello, Point

(Encyclopedia)Arguello, Point ärgwēlˈō [key], promontory, SW Calif., extending W into the Pacific Ocean. A U.S. navy missile-launching complex is nearby. ...

Estrada Palma, Tomás

(Encyclopedia)Estrada Palma, Tomás pälˈmä [key], 1835–1908, Cuban revolutionist and first president (1902–6) of Cuba. An active participant in the Ten Years War (1868–78), he became a general (1876) and w...

Santa Rosa Island

(Encyclopedia)Santa Rosa Island, narrow barrier beach between the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound, NW Fla. in the vicinity of Pensacola, extending c.50 mi (80 km) parallel to the coast. It is the site of Fort P...

Lecuona, Ernesto

(Encyclopedia)Lecuona, Ernesto ārnāsˈtō lākwōˈnä [key], 1896–1963, Cuban composer and pianist, grad. National Conservatory of Music of Havana, 1913. He appeared as a pianist in Spain, France, and the Unit...

cruiser

(Encyclopedia)cruiser, large, fast, moderately armed warship, intermediate in type between the aircraft carrier and the destroyer. During World War II, battle cruisers operated as small battleships, combining in on...

Mendieta y Montefur, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Mendieta y Montefur, Carlos kärˈlōs māndyāˈtä ē mōntāfo͞orˈ [key], 1873–1960, Cuban political leader. He was one of the chief opponents of Gerardo Machado. Mendieta, installed as provisi...

Browse by Subject