Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Van Rompuy, Herman Achille

(Encyclopedia)Van Rompuy, Herman Achille, 1947–, Belgian statesman, b. Etterbeek. A Flemish Christian Democrat, he was president of the party from 1988 to 1993 and was a member of Belgium's parliament, serving in...

Block, Herbert Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Block, Herbert Lawrence, 1909–2001, American editorial cartoonist known as Herblock, b. Chicago. A superb stylist and generally a political liberal, Herblock began drawing cartoons (1929–33) for t...

Emecheta, Buchi

(Encyclopedia)Emecheta, Buchi bo͞oˈchē āməchāˈtə [key], 1944–2017, Nigerian novelist, b. Lagos as Florence Onye Buchi Emecheta. In 1962 she accompanied her husband to England, where she had five children....

Pleasonton, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Pleasonton, Alfred, 1824–97, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Washington, D.C. He served in the Mexican War and in the Indian wars on the frontier. In the Civil War, he distinguished hims...

salvage

(Encyclopedia)salvage, in maritime law, the compensation that the owner must pay for having his vessel or cargo saved from peril, such as shipwreck, fire, or capture by an enemy. Salvage is awarded only when the pa...

Baker Lake

(Encyclopedia)Baker Lake, c.1,000 sq mi (2,590 sq km), Nunavut Territory, Canada, W of Chesterfield Inlet of Hudson Bay. It has a post of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at its western end. ...

Fort Leonard Wood

(Encyclopedia)Fort Leonard Wood, U.S. army post, 71,000 acres (28,700 hectares), S central Mo.; est. 1940. It is one of the largest basic-training centers in the United States and also provides training for army en...

Fort Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Fort Thomas, city (2020 pop. 15,999), Campbell co., N Ky., on the Ohio River, a residential suburb S of Cincinnati, Ohio; inc. 1867. The city was named ...

yawl

(Encyclopedia)yawl, sailing vessel, usually fore-and-aft rigged, with a large mainmast forward. It carries a mainsail and jibs and a much smaller mizzenmast abaft the rudder post. In the United States yawls are in ...

Watson Lake

(Encyclopedia)Watson Lake, village (1991 pop. 912), SE Yukon, Canada, near the Liard River and the British Columbia border. It is a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Post, with an airfield and a radio station, located ...