Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Amanullah

(Encyclopedia)Amanullah ăməno͝olˈə [key], 1892–1960, emir (1919–26) and king (1926–29) of Afghanistan. To win popular support for his rule he invaded India in an attempt to free Afghanistan from British-...

Beke, Charles Tilstone

(Encyclopedia)Beke, Charles Tilstone bēk [key], 1800–1874, English explorer and author. In Ethiopia in 1840–43 he mapped c.70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km) of the country, determined the approximate course of the ...

Arana Osorio, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Arana Osorio, Carlos kärˈlōs äräˈnä ōsōˈryō [key], 1918–2003, president of Guatemala (1970–74). A conservative army colonel noted for his successes during an antiguerrilla campaign (196...

Xingu

(Encyclopedia)Xingu zĭng-go͞oˈ, Port. shēng-go͞oˈ [key], river, 1,230 mi (1,979 km) long, rising in central Mato Grosso state, Brazil, and winding north across Pará state into the Amazon River at the head of...

Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio āmēˈlyō kästālärˈ ē rēpōˈlyə [key], 1832–99, Spanish statesman and author. A professor of history and philosophy at the Univ. of Madrid and a republican leader...

Galilee, Sea of

(Encyclopedia)Galilee, Sea of, Lake Tiberias kĭnˈərĕtˌ [key], lake, 64 sq mi (166 sq km), 14 mi (23 km) long, and 3 to 7 mi (4.8–11.3 km) wide, NE Israel; its surface is c.700 ft (210 m) below sea level. Th...

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the n...

Lystra

(Encyclopedia)Lystra lĭsˈtrə [key], ancient city of Lycaonia, S Asia Minor, in present Turkey. The Acts of the Apostles reports that it was visited by Paul and Barnabas. An ancient altar found there mentioned th...

Pactolus

(Encyclopedia)Pactolus păktōˈləs [key], small river of ancient Lydia, W central Asia Minor (now Turkey), joining the Hermus (modern Gediz) after passing Sardis. It was famous for the gold washed from its sands,...

Hamitic languages

(Encyclopedia)Hamitic languages, subfamily of the Hamito-Semitic family of languages, a now-abandoned system of classification for languages of N Africa and SW Asia. The Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and (sometimes) ...