Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Morgan, Julia

(Encyclopedia)Morgan, Julia, 1872–1957, American architect, b. San Francisco, B.S. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1894. Trained as an engineer, she became the first woman to study architecture at the École des B...

Norton, Joshua Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Norton, Joshua Abraham, 1818–80, colorful eccentric of San Francisco known as “Emperor Norton,” b. London. He went (1820) with his parents to Cape Town, South Africa, and news of the California ...

LaLanne, Jack

(Encyclopedia)LaLanne, Jack ləlānˈ [key], 1914–2011, American fitness advocate and television personality, b. San Francisco as François Henri LaLanne. Widely regarded as the founder of the modern fitness move...

San Luis Potosí, city, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)San Luis Potosí, city (1990 pop. 489,238), capital of San Luis Potosí state, central Mexico. Situated on a plain almost entirely surrounded by low mountains, the city is a mining and agricultural di...

San Rafael

(Encyclopedia)San Rafael săn rəfĕlˈ [key], residential city (1990 pop. 48,404), seat of Marin co., W Calif., a suburb of San Francisco on the northern shore of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1913. Several large compan...

Kearney, Denis

(Encyclopedia)Kearney, Denis kärˈnē [key], 1847–1907, American political agitator, b. Co. Cork, Ireland. He was a sailor and then a San Francisco drayman. When California suffered a depression in 1877, Kearney...

Aleijadinho

(Encyclopedia)Aleijadinho älāzhädēˈnyō [key] [Port.,=little cripple], 1730–1814, Brazilian sculptor. His real name was Antônio Francisco Lisboa. Although he was maimed in hands and feet, he is known for th...

Golden Gate

(Encyclopedia)Golden Gate, strait, 4 mi (6.4 km) long and 1 to 2 mi (1.6–3.2 km) wide, linking San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. It was discovered in 1579 by the English explorer Sir Francis Drake. Known ...

Lane, Franklin Knight

(Encyclopedia)Lane, Franklin Knight, 1864–1921, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1913–20), b. near Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada. Raised in California, he later studied law and practiced in San Francisco, where ...

Castro Valley

(Encyclopedia)Castro Valley, uninc. city (2020 pop. 66,441), Alameda co., W Calif., near San Francisco Bay. Chiefly residential, it also has light industries. ...