Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Barnett, Samuel Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Barnett, Samuel Augustus bärˈnĕt [key], 1844–1913, English clergyman and social worker. As vicar of St. Jude's, Whitechapel, in the slums of London, he pioneered in the social settlement movement...

Rush, William

(Encyclopedia)Rush, William, 1756–1833, American sculptor, one of the earliest in the country, b. Philadelphia. His wood carvings, clay models, and figureheads were famous in their day. Of his other works, carved...

Prato

(Encyclopedia)Prato ēn tōskäˈnä [key], city (1991 pop. 165,707), Tuscany, central Italy. It is a major textile-making center, known for its wool industry since the 13th cent. Weaving machinery, leather goods, ...

Saalfeld

(Encyclopedia)Saalfeld zälˈfĕlt [key], city (1994 pop. 31,981), Thuringia, E central Germany, on the Thüringer Saale River. Manufactures include machinery, chocolate, and dyes. Iron is mined and slate is quarri...

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

(Encyclopedia)Rothenburg ob der Tauber rōˈtənbo͞orkh ôp dĕr touˈbər [key], town (1994 pop. 12,001), Bavaria, S Germany, on the Tauber River. One of the best-preserved and most picturesque medieval towns in ...

Sandomierz

(Encyclopedia)Sandomierz sändôˈmyĕsh [key], Rus. Sandomir, town, Świętokrzyskie prov., SE Poland, on the Vistula. Founded probably before Poland accepted Christianity, Sandomierz became the capital of a duchy...

Carter, Gary Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Carter, Gary Edmund, 1954–2012, American baseball player, b. Culver City, Calif. A superb catcher and clutch-hitting right-handed slugger, he played in the majors for 19 years. Drafted (1972) by the...

Finnish-Russian War

(Encyclopedia)Finnish-Russian War, 1939–40, war between Finland and the Soviet Union. After World War II broke out in Sept., 1939, the USSR, never on cordial terms with Finland, took advantage of its nonaggressio...

Taylor, John, American political philosopher

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, John, 1753–1824, American political philosopher. Known as John Taylor of Caroline, he was born in Virginia, probably in Caroline co., where he later lived at “Hazlewood.” Orphaned at 10,...

Poitier, Sir Sidney

(Encyclopedia)Poitier, Sir Sidney, 1927–2022, Bahamian-American actor, b. Miami, raised in the Bahamas, returned to the United States at 14. Poitier served in the 1...

Browse by Subject