Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Albany Congress

(Encyclopedia)Albany Congress, 1754, meeting at Albany, N.Y., of commissioners representing seven British colonies in North America to treat with the Iroquois, chiefly because war with France impended. A treaty was...

dole

(Encyclopedia)dole, distribution to the poor, usually of food or money. In medieval times doles were usually from bequests of money or land, and the income was given to charity or distributed to the local poor at f...

Whitney, Asa

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Asa, 1797–1872, American merchant and transcontinental railroad projector, b. North Groton, Conn. He entered the mercantile business in New York City, acted as a foreign buyer for several y...

calendar

(Encyclopedia)calendar [Lat., from Kalends], system of reckoning time for the practical purpose of recording past events and calculating dates for future plans. The calendar is based on noting ordinary and easily o...

Bullins, Ed

(Encyclopedia)Bullins, Ed, 1935-2021, American playwright, b. Philadelphia, Pa., as Edward Artie Bullins, Antioch Univ. of San Fransico (B.A., 1989), San Francisco S...

Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Alfred, 849–99, king of Wessex (871–99), sometimes called Alfred the Great, b. Wantage, Berkshire. All these pursuits were interrupted, but not ended, by new Danish invasions between 892 and 896...

Laos

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Laos läˈōs [key], officially Lao People's Democratic Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 6,664,000), 91,428 sq mi (236,800 sq km), SE Asia. A landlocked nation, Laos is bordered by China on t...

European Recovery Program

(Encyclopedia)European Recovery Program: see Marshall Plan. ...

Economic Cooperation Administration

(Encyclopedia)Economic Cooperation Administration: see Marshall Plan. ...

Djibouti, country, Africa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Djibouti jēbo͞otēˈ [key], officially Republic of Djibouti, republic (2015 est. pop. 828,000), c.8,900 sq mi (23,057 sq km), E Africa, on the Gulf of Aden. It is bounded by Eritrea (N), Ethi...