Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zane, Ebenezer

(Encyclopedia)Zane, Ebenezer, 1747–1811, American pioneer and land speculator, b. near what is now Moorefield, W.Va. (then Virginia). With his brothers Silas and Jonathan, he went west in 1769 and established the...

American Bar Association

(Encyclopedia)American Bar Association (ABA), voluntary organization of lawyers admitted to the bar of any state. Founded (1878) largely through the efforts of the Connecticut Bar Association, it is devoted to impr...

Central American Federation

(Encyclopedia)Central American Federation or Central American Union, political confederation (1825–38) of the republics of Central America—Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador. United under ...

American water spaniel

(Encyclopedia)American water spaniel, breed of medium-sized sporting dog developed in the American Midwest. It stands about 17 in. (43.2 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 30 and 40 lb (13.6–18.1 kg). It...

American Medical Association

(Encyclopedia)American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth o...

American Fur Company

(Encyclopedia)American Fur Company, chartered by John Jacob Astor (1763–1848) in 1808 to compete with the great fur-trading companies in Canada—the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. Astor's most ...

American Automobile Association

(Encyclopedia)American Automobile Association (AAA), federation of American automobile clubs, est. 1902. AAA provides a number of benefits to its members, including emergency road service; national and internationa...

Fredonian Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Fredonian Rebellion, 1826–27, in Texas history, a premature attempt to make Texas independent from Mexico. Two Americans, Haden Edwards and his brother, had undertaken to make settlements on a land ...

Browse by Subject