Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

397 results found

Big Ben

(Encyclopedia)Big Ben, the bell in the Parliament tower (Westminster Palace), London, England. It was named for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works when the bell was installed in 1856. The name is often used t...

Shahn, Ben

(Encyclopedia)Shahn, Ben (Benjamin Shahn), 1898–1969, American painter and graphic artist, b. Lithuania. Shahn emigrated to the United States in 1906. After working in lithography until 1930, his style crystalliz...

Bongo, Omar

(Encyclopedia)Bongo, Omar (El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba) bôngˈgō [key], 1935–2009, Gabonese political leader, president of Gabon (1967–2009), b. Albert-Bernard Bongo. He entered the civil service (1958), becam...

Fath Ali Shah

(Encyclopedia)Fath Ali Shah fäth älēˈ shäˈ, fät [key], also spelled Feth Ali Shah, 1762–1834, shah of Persia (1797–1834), nephew and successor of Aga Muhammad Khan, founder of the Qajar dynasty. Most of ...

Feth Ali Shah

(Encyclopedia)Feth Ali Shah: see Fath Ali Shah. ...

Husayn ibn Ali

(Encyclopedia)Husayn ibn Ali ĭˈbən äˈlē [key], 1856–1931, Arab political and religious leader. In 1908 he succeeded as grand sherif of Mecca and thus became ruler of the Hejaz under the Ottoman Empire. In W...

Abiy Ahmed Ali

(Encyclopedia)Abiy Ahmed Ali, 1976–, Ethiopian political leader. Joining the Ethiopian army in 1993, he served in the intelligence service, the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, and the border ...

Jinnah, Muhammad Ali

(Encyclopedia)Jinnah, Muhammad Ali məhämˈəd älēˈ jĭnˈə [key], 1876–1948, founder of Pakistan, b. Karachi. After his admission to the bar in England, he returned to India to practice law. Early in his ca...

Montazeri, Hossein Ali

(Encyclopedia)Montazeri, Hossein Ali, 1922–2009, Iranian Islamic scholar and political leader. A follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Montazeri objected to Khomeini's arrest and exile, and became involved in ...

Mwinyi, Ali Hassan

(Encyclopedia)Mwinyi, Ali Hassan, 1925–, Tanzanian political leader. Entering politics in 1963, Mwinyi held government positions in Zanzibar, then several Tanzanian government posts (1970–84), before he was ele...