Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

436 results found

Malan, Daniel François

(Encyclopedia)Malan, Daniel François dänyĕlˈ fräNswäˈ məlänˈ [key], 1874–1959, South African political leader. A minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, he left the pulpit after the outbreak of World War...

Louisburg

(Encyclopedia)Louisburg lo͞oˈĭsbərgˌ [key], town (1991 pop. 1,261), E Cape Breton Island, N.S., Canada. The town, an ice-free port, is near the site of the great fortress of Louisbourg, built (1720–40) by Fr...

Appalachian Trail

(Encyclopedia)Appalachian Trail, officially Appalachian National Scenic Trail, hiking path, 2,144 mi (3,450 km) long, passing through 14 states, E United States. Conceived in 1921 by Benton MacKaye, forester and re...

Eban, Abba

(Encyclopedia)Eban, Abba äbˈə ēˈbən [key], 1915–2002, Israeli statesman, b. Cape Town, South Africa. He was educated at Cambridge, where upon graduation he became (1938) a lecturer in Middle Eastern languag...

Des Barres, Joseph Frederick Wallet

(Encyclopedia)Des Barres or Desbarres, Joseph Frederick Wallet dābärˈ [key], 1721?–1824, British army officer, surveyor, and artist. He was born of French parents (probably in Switzerland), was educated at Bas...

Dana, Richard Henry

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Richard Henry, 1787–1879, American poet and essayist, b. Cambridge, Mass.; son of Francis Dana. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1811. Critic and poet, Dana was a founder and ...

Pepperrell, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Pepperrell, Sir William, 1696–1759, American colonial military commander, b. Kittery Point, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). A wealthy merchant, landowner, and businessman, he became a colonel in...

Phuket

(Encyclopedia)Phuket po͞oˈkĭt [key], island, 206 sq mi (534 sq km), a province of Thailand, in the Andaman Sea, off the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. The town of Phuket is the capital. Flat, with isolated h...

squid

(Encyclopedia)squid, carnivorous marine cephalopod mollusk. The squid is one of the most highly developed invertebrates, well adapted to its active, predatory life. The characteristic molluscan shell is reduced to ...

Massachusetts Bay Company

(Encyclopedia)Massachusetts Bay Company, English chartered company that established the Massachusetts Bay colony in New England. Organized (1628) as the New England Company, it took over the Dorchester Company, whi...