Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Machado, Gerardo

(Encyclopedia)Machado, Gerardo mächäˈᵺō [key], 1871–1939, president of Cuba (1925–33). A businessman turned presidential candidate in 1924, he channeled the resurgent nationalism of the era. His victory ...

Rove, Karl Christian

(Encyclopedia)Rove, Karl Christian, 1950–, U.S. political consultant and government official, b. Denver, Colo. Politically active in high school, he joined College Republicans while at the Univ. of Utah and becam...

Chen Shui-bian

(Encyclopedia)Chen Shui-bian chŭn shwā-byän [key], 1951–, Taiwanese political leader, president of Taiwan (2000–2008). Born into poverty, he obtained his law degree from National Taiwan Univ. in 1975 and pra...

DeLay, Tom

(Encyclopedia)DeLay, Tom (Thomas Dale DeLay), 1947–, American politician, b. Laredo, Tex., grad. Univ. of Houston (B.S., 1970). A conservative Republican businessman, he entered politics (1979) as a Texas state l...

Henry the Navigator

(Encyclopedia)Henry the Navigator, 1394–1460, prince of Portugal, patron of exploration. Because he fought with extraordinary valor in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta (1415), he was created duke of Viseu by his ...

Averescu, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Averescu, Alexander ävĕrĕsˈko͞o [key], 1859–1938, Romanian general and political leader. He served as a volunteer in the 1877–78 war against the Ottoman Empire and rose to become minister of ...

Lothair, French king

(Encyclopedia)Lothair, 941–86, French king (954–86), son and successor of King Louis IV. During the early part of his reign he was dominated by Hugh the Great. Even after Hugh's death he was involved in conflic...

Miers, Harriet Ellan

(Encyclopedia)Miers, Harriet Ellan mīˈərz [key], 1945–, American lawyer and government official, b. Dallas, Tex., grad. Southern Methodist Univ. (B.S., 1967; J.D., 1970). A prominent female lawyer in private p...

Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre âr ôˌkĭnlĕkˈ, ôˌkhĭn– [key], 1884–1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in...

Browse by Subject