Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Berkshire Hills

(Encyclopedia)Berkshire Hills bûrkˈshər, –shĭr [key], mountainous region of wooded hills with many small lakes and streams, W Mass. The Berkshires are a southern extension of the Green Mts., but the name is g...

Neptune, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Neptune, in astronomy, 8th planet from the sun at a mean distance of about 2.8 billion mi (4.5 billion km) with an orbit lying between those of Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto; its period of revolut...

Nash, John Henry

(Encyclopedia)Nash, John Henry, 1871–1947, American printer and bibliophile, b. Woodbridge, Canada. After learning the printer's trade, he emigrated to the United States in 1894. He eventually became professor of...

Harrison, Pat

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Pat (Byron Patton Harrison), 1881–1941, U.S. Congressman, b. Crystal Springs, Miss. A lawyer, he served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1911–19) and in the U.S. Senat...

Four Freedoms

(Encyclopedia)Four Freedoms. In his message to Congress proposing lend-lease legislation (Jan. 6, 1941), President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated that Four Freedoms should prevail everywhere in the world—freedo...

Davidson, Jo

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, Jo, 1883–1952, American sculptor, b. New York City. He studied at the Art Students League and the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He is known especially for his portrait busts, which display...

Fredericksburg, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Fredericksburg, battle of, in the Civil War, fought Dec. 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Va. In Nov., 1862, the Union general Ambrose Burnside moved his three “grand divisions” under W. B. Franklin, ...

Hastings, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Hastings. 1 City (2020 pop. 3,013), seat of Barry co., SW Mich; inc. 1865. The town is situated on the Thornapple River and was developed on land ...

Durant, William James

(Encyclopedia)Durant, William James, 1885–1981, American historian and essayist, b. North Adams, Mass. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1917 and published his doctoral dissertation, Philosophy and the Socia...

Presidential Range

(Encyclopedia)Presidential Range, group of the White Mts., N N.H., so called from the names of its peaks. Mt. Washington (6,288 ft/1,917 m) is the highest peak in New Hampshire; a meteorological station is at the s...