Columbia Encyclopedia

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Coffin, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Sir Isaac, 1759–1839, British naval officer, b. Boston, Mass. From a loyalist family, he fought for the British in the American Revolution and in the French Revolutionary Wars; at the end of...

Adamawa Massif

(Encyclopedia)Adamawa Massif ädämäwäˈ, ădˌəmäˈwə [key], plateau, c.26,000 sq mi (67,300 sq km), N central Cameroon and E Nigeria, W central Africa. It is sparsely populated, and chiefly used for grazing....

Aletsch

(Encyclopedia)Aletsch äˈlĕch [key], glacier, 66 sq mi (171 sq km), 16 mi (26 km) long and 1.2 mi (1.9 km) wide, S central Switzerland, largest in the Alps. It lies between the Jungfrau and the Aletschhorn, one o...

Caiaphas

(Encyclopedia)Caiaphas (Joseph Caiaphas) kāˈyəfəs [key], Jewish high priest, a Sadducee, son-in-law of Annas. According to the Gospels, he presided at the council that condemned Jesus to death. Later, he joined...

Sunbury-on-Thames

(Encyclopedia)Sunbury-on-Thames, town (1991 pop. 26,240), Surrey, SE England, on the Thames. Sunbury Park with its walled garden is there. Nearby Shepperton has motion-picture studios and a village center from the ...

Rouyn-Noranda

(Encyclopedia)Rouyn-Noranda ro͞oˈĭn nərănˈdə, Fr. ro͞oăNˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 26,448), extreme SW Que., Canada. Created (1986) by an amalgamation of Rouyn and Noranda, it is the center of a gold-, copp...

Chopin, Frédéric François

(Encyclopedia)Chopin, Frédéric François frādārēkˈ fräNswäˈ shôpăNˈ [key], 1810–49, composer for the piano, b. near Warsaw, of French and Polish parentage. His lyrical, often melancholy, compositions ...

Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de

(Encyclopedia)Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de mŏntānˈ, Fr. mēshĕlˈ ākĕmˈ sānyörˈ də môNtĕnˈyə [key], 1533–92, French essayist. Montaigne was one of the greatest masters of the essay as a li...

Cummins, Albert Baird

(Encyclopedia)Cummins, Albert Baird, 1850–1926, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1909–26), b. Green co., Pa. He studied law in Chicago and in 1878 joined his brother in practice in Des Moines. As governor of Iowa (1901�...

Alexander, Grover Cleveland

(Encyclopedia)Alexander, Grover Cleveland, 1887–1950, American baseball player, b. St. Paul, Nebr. One of the great right-handed pitchers in National League history, Alexander pitched 696 games and won 373 of the...