Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

mayfly

(Encyclopedia)mayfly, any insect of the order Ephemeroptera, so named because the adults live for a short time, often only a single day, during which they molt twice, mate, and lay their eggs in freshwater. The adu...

Meade, George Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Meade, George Gordon, 1815–72, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Cádiz, Spain. Graduated from West Point in 1835, he resigned from the army the next year and became a civil engineer. In 1...

Marcantonio, Vito

(Encyclopedia)Marcantonio, Vito vēˈtō märkăntōˈnēō [key], 1902–54, American politician, b. New York City. After the age of 18 he was active in community affairs in the Harlem section of New York City. He...

Karamanlis, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Karamanlis, or Caramanlis, Constantine kônˈstäntēn kärämänlēsˈ [key], 1907–98, president of Greece (1980–85, 1990–95), b. Turkish Macedonia. A member of parliament in 1935–36, he was ...

Hooker, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Hooker, Joseph, 1814–79, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Hadley, Mass. After fighting the Seminole and serving in the Mexican War, Hooker resigned from the army in 1853 and was for sever...

Dumouriez, Charles François

(Encyclopedia)Dumouriez, Charles François shärl fräNswäˈ dümo͞o-rēāˈ [key], 1739–1823, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. After fighting in the Seven Years War, he was employed by King Lou...

Schlieffen, Alfred, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Schlieffen, Alfred, Graf von älˈfrāt gräf fən shlēˈfən [key], 1833–1913, German field marshal and strategist. In the tradition of the Prussian officer corps, Schlieffen was a professional so...

Rommel, Erwin

(Encyclopedia)Rommel, Erwin ĕrˈvēn rômˈəl [key], 1891–1944, German field marshal. He entered the army in 1910 and rose slowly through the ranks. In 1939, Adolf Hitler made him a general. Rommel brilliantly ...

Shays's Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Shays's Rebellion, 1786–87, armed insurrection by farmers in W Massachusetts against the state government. Debt-ridden farmers, struck by the economic depression that followed the American Revolutio...

Basil the Great, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Basil the Great, Saint băˈzĭl, bāˈ– [key], c.330–379, Greek prelate, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church and one of the Four Fathers of the Greek Church. He was a brother o...