Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kay, John

(Encyclopedia)Kay, John, 1704–64, English inventor. He patented (1733) the fly shuttle, operated by pulling a cord that drove the shuttle to either side, freeing one hand of the weaver to press home the weft. Wor...

Kennebunkport

(Encyclopedia)Kennebunkport kĕnˌĭbŭngkpôrtˈ, kĕnˌĭbŭngkˈpôrt [key], town (1990 pop. 1,100), York co., S Maine, on the Atlantic coast; settled 1629, inc. 1653. The early town, called Arundel, appears in ...

Stranraer

(Encyclopedia)Stranraer strənrärˈ, străn– [key], town (1991 pop. 10,766), Dumfries and Galloway, SW Scotland, at the head of Loch Ryan. A fishing port, it has a prosperous trade with Northern Ireland. Food pr...

Spanish Main

(Encyclopedia)Spanish Main, mainland of Spanish America, particularly the coast of South America from the isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Spanish treasure fleets, sailing home from the New Worl...

Votkinsk

(Encyclopedia)Votkinsk vôtˈkĭnsk [key], city (1989 pop. 103,500), Udmurt Republic, E European Russia, on a tributary of the Kama River. It has machine plants and sawmills. Founded in 1759 as Votkinski Zavod, a m...

Walpole, Sir Spencer

(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Sir Spencer, 1839–1907, English historian. He held a number of minor public offices and served as private secretary in the home office to his father, Sir Spencer Horatio Walpole, whose biog...

Capernaum

(Encyclopedia)Capernaum or Capharnaum kəpûrˈnēəm; kəfärˈnēəm [key], town, NE ancient Palestine, on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee; in the Gospels, it is closely associated with Jesus' minist...

Adrogué

(Encyclopedia)Adrogué älmēränˈtā [key], city, Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It was settled in 1873 by families fleeing a yellow fever epidemic in the city of Buenos Aires. It w...

Nikšić

(Encyclopedia)Nikšić nēkˈshĭch [key], city (2011 pop. 72,443), central Montenegro. It is the commercial center of an agricultural region. It is also an important industrial city with a steel mill, sawmill, iro...

Léros

(Encyclopedia)Léros lĕˈrôs, lēˈrŏs [key], island (1991 pop. 8,059), c.20 sq mi (50 sq km), SE Greece, in the Aegean Sea; one of the Dodecanese. The port of Lakkíon, or Lakkí, was the naval base of Portolag...