Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

MacDonald, Ramsay

(Encyclopedia)MacDonald, Ramsay (James Ramsay McDonald), 1866–1937, British statesman, b. Scotland. The illegitimate son of a servant, he went as a young man to London, where he joined the Social Democratic Feder...

bungalow

(Encyclopedia)bungalow [Indian bangla,=house], dwelling built in a style developed from that of a form of rural house in India. The original bungalow typically has one story, few rooms, and a maximum of cross draft...

Cantor, Eric Ivan

(Encyclopedia)Cantor, Eric Ivan, 1963–, U.S. politician, b. Richmond, Va., grad. George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1985), William and Mary (J.D., 1988), Columbia (M.S., 1989). A conservative Republican, he worked as...

Cunningham, Merce

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Merce (Mercier Philip Cunningham), 1919–2009, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Centralia, Wash. Cunningham studied modern dance with Martha Graham and ballet at Balanchine's ...

Lorain

(Encyclopedia)Lorain lôrānˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 71,245), Lorain co., N Ohio, on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Black River; inc. 1834. Once an important ore-shipping point, Lorain has shipyards, steelworks, au...

Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy

(Encyclopedia)Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy yo͞oˈzĕf ēgnäˈtsē kräshĕfˈskē [key], 1812–87, Polish writer. He was imprisoned for political activities in Lithuania and in Germany. Wandering in exile through E...

Rosenberg

(Encyclopedia)Rosenberg rōˈzənbərg [key], city (1990 pop. 20,183), Fort Bend co., S Tex., on the Brazos River, in an oil and natural gas area; inc. 1902. Rosenberg and its sister city of Richmond are physically...

Ritter, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Ritter, Karl, 1779–1859, German geographer, a founder of modern human geography. He was a professor of geography at the Univ. of Berlin from 1820. He helped define the scope of geography and its rel...

Davis, James John

(Encyclopedia)Davis, James John, 1873–1947, American public official, b. Wales. After emigrating (1881) to the United States, he worked as a puddler in ironworks in Pennsylvania and, moving to Elwood, Ind., becam...

O-shima

(Encyclopedia)O-shima ō-shēˈmä [key], island, c.35 sq mi (90 sq km), near the entrance to Tokyo Bay, E Japan. The largest and most northerly of the Izu-shichito group, it is the site of volcanic Mt. Mihara (2,4...