Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

William II, king of the Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1792–1849, king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1840–49), son and successor of William I. He served with Wellington in the Peninsular War, was wounded at Waterloo, and...

Zhanjiang

(Encyclopedia)Zhanjiang or Chankiang both: jän-jyäng [key], Cantonese Tsamkong, official Chinese name for the former French territory of Kwangchowan (325 sq mi/840 sq km) on Guangzhou Bay, S Guangdong prov., Chin...

Casablanca Conference

(Encyclopedia)Casablanca Conference, Jan. 14–24, 1943, World War II meeting of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Casablanca, French Morocco. A joint declarat...

Kuiper, Gerard Peter

(Encyclopedia)Kuiper, Gerard Peter or Gerrit Pieter gĕrˈĭt pēˈtər kīˈpər [key], 1905–73, American astronomer, b. the Netherlands. Kuiper is considered to be the father of modern planetary science for his...

Mercer, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Mercer, Hugh mûrˈsər [key], c.1725–1777, American Revolutionary general, b. Aberdeen, Scotland. A physician, he was a surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) and afte...

Millin, Sarah Gertrude (Liebson)

(Encyclopedia)Millin, Sarah Gertrude (Liebson), 1889–1968, South African writer. The first of her novels about colonial and racial problems in South Africa is Dark River (1920). Later novels include God's Stepchi...

Mitchell, John Newton

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, John Newton, 1913–88, U.S. Attorney General (1969–72), b. Detroit. A law partner of Richard M. Nixon, he managed Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign and was made (1969) Attorney General. ...

Mooney, Thomas J.

(Encyclopedia)Mooney, Thomas J., 1883–1942, American labor agitator, b. Chicago. He was an active leader in several violent labor struggles in California before 1916 and was convicted as a participant in the bomb...

Lafayette Escadrille

(Encyclopedia)Lafayette Escadrille ĕskədrĭlˈ [key], small group of American volunteer aviators in World War I, created (Apr., 1916) as Escadrille Américaine in the French air service. It was renamed the Lafaye...

Raisin, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Raisin, river, 115 mi (185 km) long, rising in S Mich. and flowing E to Lake Erie at Monroe, Mich. After Detroit's surrender in the War of 1812, U.S. troops under Gen. James Winchester, sent to retake...