Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kolkata

(Encyclopedia)Kolkata kălkŭtˈə [key], city (1991 pop. 10,916,272), capital of West Bengal state, E India, on the Hugli River. It is the second largest city in India and one of the largest in the world. Ten of K...

Cunningham, Sir Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Sir Alexander, 1814–93, English archaeologist and army engineer; son of Allan Cunningham. He retired (1861) as a major general after 30 years of service with the Bengal engineers and the...

Kanishka

(Encyclopedia)Kanishka kənĭshˈkə [key], fl. c.a.d. 120, king of Gandhara. He was the most powerful and renowned ruler of the Kushan dynasty, one of the five tribes of the Yüeh-chih who had divided (1st cent. b...

Dumdum

(Encyclopedia)Dumdum dŭmˈdəm [key], four towns in Suburban Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal state, E cent...

Jones, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Sir William, 1746–94, English philologist and jurist. Jones was celebrated for his understanding of jurisprudence and of Oriental languages. He published an Essay on the Law of Bailments (178...

Gupta

(Encyclopedia)Gupta go͝opˈtə [key], Indian dynasty, a.d. c.320–c.550, whose empire at its height encompassed much of N India. Ancient Indian culture reached a high point during this period. Gupta paintings ado...

Francis, Sir Philip

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Sir Philip, 1740–1818, British statesman and pamphleteer. He may have been the author known as Junius. He held several minor posts in government offices before being appointed to the counci...

Bentinck, Lord William Cavendish

(Encyclopedia)Bentinck, Lord William Cavendish bĕnˈtingk, –tĭk [key], 1774–1839, British administrator in India. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and was (1803–7) governor of Madras. He was appointed gover...

Lawrence, Sir Henry Montgomery

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Sir Henry Montgomery, 1806–57, British general and administrator in India; brother of John Laird Mair Lawrence. Commissioned (1822) in the Bengal artillery, he fought in Myanmar (1824–26...

Simcoe, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Simcoe, Lake, 539 sq mi (1,396 sq km), S Ont., Canada, between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario. Cook Bay, Kempenfelt Bay, and Lake Couchiching are arms of the lake. Lake Simcoe drains N through the Seve...

Browse by Subject