Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Macri, Mauricio

(Encyclopedia)Macri, Mauricio, 1959–, Argentinian political leader. After graduating from the Catholic Univ. of Argentina, he was active in his family's businesses in the 1980s and 90s before becoming president o...

mamba

(Encyclopedia)mamba, name for African snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, in the cobra family. Widely distributed throughout Africa except in the deserts, mambas have extremely toxic venom. When attacking they raise t...

Ramos, Fidel Valdez

(Encyclopedia)Ramos, Fidel Valdez fēdĕlˈ väldĕsˈ räˈmōs [key], 1928–, Philippine general and politician, president of the Philippines (1992–98), b. Lingayen. A career army officer, he became deputy chi...

reconnaissance satellite

(Encyclopedia)reconnaissance satellite, artificial satellite launched by a country to provide intelligence information on the military activities of foreign countries. There are four major types. Early-warning sate...

Essebsi, Beji Caid

(Encyclopedia)Essebsi, Beji Caid bäˈzhē cäˈĭd əsĕbˈsē [key], 1926–2019, Tunisian political leader. A lawyer and ally of President Bourguiba, he held several posts in his and President and Ben Ali's gove...

poll tax

(Encyclopedia)poll tax, a capital tax levied equally on every adult in the community. Although no longer a significant source of revenue for any major country, the poll tax did provide large sums for many governmen...

Azaña, Manuel

(Encyclopedia)Azaña, Manuel mänwĕlˈ äthäˈnyä [key], 1880–1940, Spanish statesman. An author and critic, he gained prominence as president (1930) of the Madrid Ateneo, a literary and political club, and ca...

Oswald, Lee Harvey

(Encyclopedia)Oswald, Lee Harvey, 1939–63, presumed assassin of John F. Kennedy, b. New Orleans. Oswald spent most of his boyhood in Fort Worth, Tex. Later, he attended a Dallas high school, and enlisted (1956) i...

Juba, city, South Sudan

(Encyclopedia)Juba jo͞oˈbə [key], city (1993 pop. 114,980), capital and largest city of South Sudan, a port on the White Nile in the southern part of the country. It is the southern terminus of river traffic in ...