Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Porteous, John

(Encyclopedia)Porteous, John pôrˈtēəs [key], d. 1736, British soldier. He was captain of the Edinburgh town guard at the execution (1736) of Andrew Wilson, a smuggler. When the crowd, which was sympathetic to W...

Oakland

(Encyclopedia)Oakland, city (1990 pop. 372,242), seat of Alameda co., W Calif., on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1852. Together with San Francisco and San Jose, the city comprises the fourth largest m...

Cultural Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Cultural Revolution, 1966–76, mass mobilization of urban Chinese youth inaugurated by Mao Zedong in an attempt to prevent the development of a bureaucratized Soviet style of Communism. Mao closed sc...

Eliahba

(Encyclopedia)Eliahba ēlīˈəbə [key], in the Bible, one of David's guard. ...

Joshaviah

(Encyclopedia)Joshaviah jŏshəvīˈə [key], in the Bible, one of David's guard. ...

Zelek

(Encyclopedia)Zelek zēˈlĕk [key], in the Bible, one of David's guard. ...

Somoza Debayle, Anastasio

(Encyclopedia)Somoza Debayle, Anastasio änästäsˈyō sōmōˈsä ᵺābīˈlā [key], 1925–80, president of Nicaragua (1967–72, 1974—79). The younger son of dictator Anastasio Somoza, he was educated in th...

pit bull

(Encyclopedia)pit bull, dog having a smooth coat, a stocky build, and a blocky head, originally bred for fighting from bulldog and terrier breeds. Pit bulls were used in bull- and bearbaiting for centuries and as g...

Hiddai

(Encyclopedia)Hiddai hĭdˈāī, hĭdāˈī [key], in the Bible, one of David's guard. An alternate form is Hurai. ...

Helez

(Encyclopedia)Helez hēˈlĕz [key], in the Bible. 1 One of David's guard. 2 Descendant of Jerahmeel. ...