Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von

(Encyclopedia)Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von gĕpˈhärt lāˈbərĕkht fən blüˈkhər [key], 1742–1819, Prussian field marshal, an outstanding military opponent of Napoleon I. An officer in the army of King F...

Greene, Nathanael

(Encyclopedia)Greene, Nathanael, 1742–86, American Revolutionary general, b. Potowomut (now Warwick), R.I. An iron founder, he became active in colonial politics and served (1770–72, 1775) in the Rhode Island a...

Stuart, James Ewell Brown

(Encyclopedia)Stuart, James Ewell Brown (Jeb Stuart), 1833–64, Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War, b. Patrick co., Va. Most of his U.S. army service was with the 1st Cavalry in Kansas. On Vir...

Astor, John Jacob, 1822–90, American financier

(Encyclopedia)Astor, John Jacob, 1822–90, American financier, b. New York City, educated at Columbia and Göttingen universities and at Harvard law school; son of William Backhouse Astor (1792–1875). He served ...

Honiara

(Encyclopedia)Honiara hōˌnēärˈə [key], town, capital of the Solomon Islands. Located on Guadalcanal in the SW Pacific, Honiar...

Gallipoli Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Gallipoli Peninsula, Lat. Chersonesus Thracica, narrow peninsula, c.50 mi (80 km) long, W Turkey, extending southwestward between the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles. The port of Gallipoli gives it its...

Hundred Days

(Encyclopedia)Hundred Days, name given to the period after the return of the deposed French emperor, Napoleon I, from Elba. The Hundred Days are counted from Mar. 20, 1815, when Napoleon arrived in Paris, to June 2...

depth charge

(Encyclopedia)depth charge, explosive device used against submarines and other underwater targets, either rolled into the water from rails on the stern of a ship or propelled from depth charge throwers. The charge ...

Tibullus

(Encyclopedia)Tibullus (Albius Tibullus) tĭbŭlˈəs [key], c.55? b.c.–19 b.c., Roman elegiac poet, b. Pedum, near Praeneste. Probably of the equestrian order, he was a friend of Messala, whom he accompanied on ...

Qostanay

(Encyclopedia)Qostanay, Kostanay, or Kustanay all: ko͝osˌtənīˈ [key], city (1993 est. pop. 228,000), N Kazakhstan, on the Tobol River. It is an agricultural center and producer of chemical fibers. Rich iron d...