Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Garrett, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Garrett, Thomas, 1789–1871, American abolitionist, b. Upper Darby, Pa. A Quaker, he joined the Pennsylvania Abolition Society in 1818. At Wilmington, Del., where he became a hardware merchant and to...

Hildebrand, Lay of

(Encyclopedia)Hildebrand, Lay of, fragment of an epic in mixed Low and Old High German composed c.800 in the monastery of Fulda. Hildebrand, armorer of Dietrich of Bern (Theodoric the Great), returns home after man...

Jenney, William Le Baron

(Encyclopedia)Jenney, William Le Baron, 1832–1907, American engineer and architect, b. Fairhaven, Mass. He studied at Harvard Scientific School and the École des Beaux-Arts. Later he learned engineering, constru...

Suwannee

(Encyclopedia)Suwannee swôˈnē, swäˈ– [key], river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, rising in the Okefenokee Swamp, SE Ga., and winding generally S through N Fla. to the Gulf of Mexico; it is dredged to accommodate s...

Tana, lake, Ethiopia

(Encyclopedia)Tana tsäˈnä [key], largest lake of Ethiopia, c.1,400 sq mi (3,630 sq km), S of Gondar. It is fed by more than 60 streams, one of which is regarded as the source of the Blue Nile. The islands in the...

York, Frederick Augustus, duke of

(Encyclopedia)York, Frederick Augustus, duke of, 1763–1827, second son of George III of England. In the French Revolutionary Wars he commanded (1793–95) the unsuccessful English forces in Flanders. Despite his ...

Cassivellaunus

(Encyclopedia)Cassivellaunus kăˌsĭvĭlôˈnəs [key], fl. 54 b.c., British chieftain, a leader in the resistance against the invasion of Julius Caesar in 54 b.c. Caesar crossed the Thames River into Cassivellaun...

Raleigh

(Encyclopedia)Raleigh rôlˈē, rälˈē [key], city (1990 pop. 207,951), state capital, and seat of Wake co., central N.C.; the site was selected for the capital in 1788, and the city was laid out and inc. 1792. I...

Roberts, Frederick Sleigh, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar

(Encyclopedia)Roberts, Frederick Sleigh, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar kăndəhärˈ [key], 1832–1914, British field marshal. He joined the Bengal artillery in 1851 and fought with distinction in the Indian Mutiny...

Foster, Stephen Collins

(Encyclopedia)Foster, Stephen Collins, 1826–64, American songwriter and composer, b. Lawrenceville, Pa. His pioneer family was aware of his talent for music, but not understanding it they provided him with little...