Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bello, Sir Ahmadu

(Encyclopedia)Bello, Sir Ahmadu, 1910–66, Nigerian political, b. Rabbah (now in Sokoto State), NW Nigeria. A Fulani and descendent of Usuman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto caliphate, he was a major figure i...

corn laws

(Encyclopedia)corn laws, regulations restricting the export and import of grain, particularly in England. As early as 1361 export was forbidden in order to keep English grain cheap. Subsequent laws, numerous and co...

Cheever, John

(Encyclopedia)Cheever, John, 1912–82, American author, b. Quincy, Mass. His expulsion from Thayer Academy was the subject of his first short story, published by the New Republic when he was 17. Many of his subseq...

Beach, Moses Yale

(Encyclopedia)Beach, Moses Yale, 1800–1868, American journalist, b. Wallingford, Conn. As a young man he invented a rag-cutting machine and a gunpowder engine. In 1838 he bought the New York Sun from his brother-...

Bene Israel

(Encyclopedia)Bene Israel or Beni Israel both: bāˈnē [key] [Heb.,=sons of Israel], Jewish community of India, living mostly in and near Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Many thousands of others have settled in Israel s...

Bennett, Naftali

(Encyclopedia) Bennett, Naftali, 1972-, Israeli politician and prime minister (2021-), b. Haifa. The son of American immigrant parents, Naftali served in the Israeli ...

vaudeville

(Encyclopedia)vaudeville vôdˈvĭl [key], originally a light song, derived from the drinking and love songs formerly attributed to Olivier Basselin and called Vau, or Vaux, de Vire. Similar to the English music ha...

Patterson

(Encyclopedia)Patterson, family of American journalists. Robert Wilson Patterson, 1850–1910, b. Chicago, grad. Williams, 1871, became (1871) a reporter on the Chicago Times and after 1873 was attached to the Chic...

Ross, Sir James Clark

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Sir James Clark, 1800–1862, British polar explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he accompanied his uncle, Sir John Ross, in search of the Northwest Passage and commanded the Erebus. He later stud...

Ickes, Harold LeClaire

(Encyclopedia)Ickes, Harold LeClaire ĭkˈēz [key], 1874–1952, American statesman, b. Blair co., Pa. As a Chicago newspaper reporter and later as a lawyer, he became interested in local reform politics. Original...

Browse by Subject