Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Saint Kitts and Nevis

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Saint Kitts and Nevis or Saint Kitts–Nevis nēˈvĭs, nĕvˈĭs [key], officially Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, island nation (2015 est. pop. 52,000), 120 sq mi (311 sq km), West Indie...

Hephaestus

(Encyclopedia)Hephaestus hĕfĕsˈtəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god. According to Homer he was the son of Hera and Zeus, but Hesiod states that he was conceived and borne by Hera alone. Orig...

Hart, Doris

(Encyclopedia)Hart, Doris, 1925–2015, American tennis player, b. St. Louis, Mo. One of the outstanding tennis stars of the 1950s, Hart won her first Grand Slam title in women's doubles at Wimbledon in 1947 and fr...

greyhound

(Encyclopedia)greyhound, breed of tall, swift, sight hound developed nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. It stands about 26 in. (66 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Its short, smooth coat may...

Frothingham, Octavius Brooks

(Encyclopedia)Frothingham, Octavius Brooks frŏᵺˈĭnghəm [key], 1822–95, American clergyman and writer, b. Boston. While a Unitarian minister in Salem (1847–55) he came under the influence of Theodore Parke...

Johnson, Lady Bird

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912–2007, b. Karnack, Tex., as Claudia Alta Taylor. She married (1934) Lyndon B. Johnson and played an active role in his political career. As first lady (1963–69), she was th...

Office of Strategic Services

(Encyclopedia)Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the purpose of obtaining information about enemy nations and ...

Redwood National Park

(Encyclopedia)Redwood National Park, 112,430 acres (45,518 hectares), along the Pacific coast, NW Calif.; est. 1968. Backed by coastal bluffs, 40 mi (64 km) of beach, lagoon, and rocky coast are preserved in their ...

Steinem, Gloria

(Encyclopedia)Steinem, Gloria stīnˈəm [key], 1934–, American journalist and feminist, b. Toledo, Ohio, grad. Smith College (B.A., 1956). Steinem gained prominence as a spokeswoman for women's rights in article...

Squanto

(Encyclopedia)Squanto or Tisquantum, d. 1622, Native American of the Patuxet (or Pawtuxet) band, part of the Wampanoag confederation. He is sometimes thought to be the Native American taken to England from the Main...

Browse by Subject